Second Quest: The Dwellings of the Breefolk!

[menace64]

MODERN UPDATE:

This thread is the freight train for bringing Allies back as a fundamental card type; and beyond, revamping the entire Lord of the Rings TCG rules system, something I internally refer to as Second Quest, because in addition to Allies returning, there's also:

Quests. This as-yet-unrevealed new card type (I'm still fiddling with it) expands the scope of your game, for the first time enabling players to haul the Ring all the way from Bag End to Mount Doom. I've been playing around with this idea since Reflections was announced and I feel like I almost have it right.

Dwellings. The second new card type, and I suppose the spiritual successor to Thranduil's old monument concept, shines a new light on the interactive terrain of Tolkien's world. Dwellings aren't Conditions though, even if they feel and play exactly the same way. I won't have a concrete example to show you for a little while longer, mainly because I need to test the card type in every culture before I feel like it's good to go, and there's a bunch of new cultures for me to develop from scratch, too!

The Adventure Area is a new-designated zone where all Sites, Dwellings, Allies, and Adventure Area-playing cards live. The Adventure Area is a shared area between all players. Expect the Adventure Area to get busy as the War rages on.

Three New Cultures
- Arnor
- Fangorn
- Morgul

Arnor is the new home of all the Northern Kingdom of Men, focusing chiefly on the Free Peoples of Bree and the roving Rangers of unspoken lineage. Arnor is an excellent early-game Freeps culture, offering the stout and ready support of Aragorn and those who may rally to his banner. But Arnor relies heavily on Allies (typically without regard for culture, making it an easy-to-splash culture) and as you'll see the Shadow has plenty of ways of punishing a fellowship for relying too heavily on outside support.

Arnor also suffers as the game wears on - most players will have made the switch to an Aragorn in his Companion persona, but the fellowship quickly leaves Eriador and, thus, much of what fuels Arnor as a culture.

Fangorn is my reckoning with a 16 year old chip on my shoulder, all the way back to BoHD. The Ents deserve better than a silly pointy hat!

Fangorn is slow. Very slow. So slow that they don't have access to a single Event, reliant entirely upon Condition-based card plays. But, being as old as they are, oftentimes Ents (and Trees) require very little to play and offer savory destructive power to any player willing to toss a few Hobbits into the Forest. And you'll want their support, since site 8[T] will be an absolute bloodbath if you're forced to go it alone without Treebeard's army.

Morgul encompasses not only Minas Morgul (the Home Site of the Nazgûl), but also the Dark Host led by The Witch-king to the Pelennor Fields. Morgul specializes in terror, horror, and giant murderous siege weapons commanded by Orcs with skulls nailed to their heads.

Below you'll find the start to all of this: an Ally card for each of The Nine Walkers. Before too much longer I'll start posting cardlists.

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•Gimli, Envoy of Erebor
Ally • Home 3[F] • Dwarf
Strength 6
Vitality 3
Frodo Signet
Damage +1.To play, spot a Dwarf and 3 Free Peoples cultures.
While the fellowship is at a mountain or underground site, Gimli participates in archery fire and skirmishes.
"'...and Gimli son of Glóin for the Dwarves... willing to go at least to the passes of the Mountains, and maybe beyond.'"

(Update 1: Added lore, removed overformatting.)

•Legolas, Messenger of Mirkwood
Ally • Home 3[F] • Elf
Strength 6
Vitality 3
Frodo Signet
Archer.To play, spot an Elf and 3 Free Peoples cultures.
While the fellowship is at a forest or river site, Legolas participates in archery fire and skirmishes.
"'...they shall represent the other Free Peoples of the World: Elves, Dwarves, and Men. Legolas shall be for the Elves...'"

(Update 1: Added lore, removed overformatting.)

These first two allies are fairly vanilla, but still good. Their home site allows them to be targeted by Rivendell-centric cards and once you get them into play they become active at certain sites - note that this is non-optional!

•Gandalf, Wandering Wizard
Ally • Home 1[F] & 5[T] & 3[K] • Wizard
Strength 6
Vitality 4
Aragorn Signet
Ranger. To play, add or spot 3 Shadow cultures.
While skirmishing a fierce minion, Gandalf is strength +2.
Response: If the twilight pool has 12 or more twilight tokens, exert Gandalf and add to allow him to participate in archery fire and skirmishes until the regroup phase.
"'Wherever I have been, I am back,' he answered in the genuine Gandalf manner. '...This is a perilous night, and I must ride fast. But the dawn may be brighter; and if so, we shall meet again.'"

(Update 1: Added lore, removed overformatting. Bumped up Gandalf's cost from 3 to 4. Changed Assignment to Response, upped the spot from 10 tokens to 12, and added 3 more following the exert.)

Gandalf the Ranger! He won't stick around very long to help, but he'll pop out naturally a couple of times, and if things get dire enough you can expect to see him show up looking for a scrap!

•Aragorn, Protector of the Shire
Ally • Home 1[F] & 2[F] & 3[F] • Man
Strength 8
Vitality 4
Gandalf Signet
Ranger. Defender +1. To play, exert Gandalf or Elrond
Response: If your Hobbit (or ally whose home site is 1[F] or 2[F]) is about to take a wound, exert Aragorn to prevent it.
"'It would take more than a few days, or weeks, or years, of wandering in the Wild to make you look like Strider,' he answered. 'And you would die first, unless you are made of sterner stuff than you look to be.'"

(Update 1: Added lore, removed overformatting.)

I originally had Aragorn doing something else but changed him to healing because he's a healer. This ability covers every Hobbit ally and companion, along with anybody else who lives in the area - I'm imagining some hypothetical ally versions of Halbarad or Gildor utilizing this shadowy protector's ability to absorb damage, but Goldberry and Tom Bombadil qualify too!

•Boromir, Champion of Gondor
Ally • Home 3[K] & 6[K] • Man
Strength 7
Vitality 3
Denethor Signet
Knight. Valiant. To play, exert Denethor or spot no cards in your dead pile.
While the fellowship is at a battleground site (or if you spot 3 cards), Boromir participates in archery fire and skirmishes.
"'...less than a year ago they won back the crossings, and many of our best men were slain. Boromir it was that drove the enemy at last back from this western shore, and we hold still the near half of Osgiliath.'"

(Update 1: Added lore, removed overformatting.)

I added valiant and the dead pile bit to give him a few degrees of splashability - I figure if you're exerting Denethor you're already playing , in which case you'd prefer Boromir as a companion over his ally form.

So now any FP deck can run him, but only if he's on the front line. And if you can get into some battles or if you're facing the darkness of Mordor, Boromir will be there to help!

•Frodo, Favored Relation
Ally • Home 1[F] • Hobbit
Strength 3
Vitality 3
Gandalf Signet
Ring-bound. To play, spot Bilbo bearing The One Ring.
At the start of each fellowship phase, exert the Ring-bearer (or add a burden) to play a ally from your draw deck.
Regroup: Exert Bilbo and Frodo to make Frodo a companion and the Ring-bearer (resistance 5), then discard Bilbo.
"'For it is, of course, also the birthday of my heir and nephew, Frodo. He comes of age and into his inheritance today.'"

(Update 1: Added lore, removed overformatting. Dropped vitality from 4 to 3.)

Weird card! This Frodo is the Sam to Bilbo BoTB; and yet I also wanted him to feel a little bit like Smeagol, so I wrote a mostly-positive-but-mandatory effect that put a constant pressure on old Bilbo. Basically, as long as Bilbo hangs around the Shire it blossoms despite his increasing menace, and eventually he has to leave or become corrupted; in either case Frodo receives the Ring - but because he's fresh into the (R/r)ing and has troubles of his own leaving the Shire, the maybe-bad effect continues.

•Merry, Shrewd Conspirator
Ally • Home 1[F] & 2[F] • Hobbit
Strength 3
Vitality 3
Frodo Signet
To play, spot Frodo and 3 Hobbits.
Each time you play a stealth card, you may exert Merry to remove (limit once per phase).
"'We have been terrified that you might give us the slip, and go off suddenly, all on your own like he did. Ever since this spring we have kept our eyes open, and done a great deal of planning on our own account. You are not going to escape so easily!'"

(Update 1: Added lore, removed overformatting. Dropped vitality from 4 to 3.)

•Pippin, Young Conspirator
Ally • Home 1[F] & 2[F] • Hobbit
Strength 3
Vitality 3
Frodo Signet
To play, spot Frodo and 3 Hobbits.
Each time you play a possession, you may exert Pippin to remove (limit once per phase).
"There was a terrific splash, and a shout of Whoa! from Frodo. It appeared that a lot of Pippin's bath had imitated a fountain and leaped on high... 'Lawks!' said Merry, looking in. The stone floor was swimming. 'You ought to mop all that up before you get anything to eat, Peregrin.' he said. 'Hurry up, or we shan't wait for you.'"

(Update 1: Added lore, removed overformatting. Dropped vitality from 4 to 3.)

Both Merry and Pippin look simple but I feel like they've got some nasty choke potential, especially when used multiple times per turn... and in tandem.

•Sam, Reluctant Conspirator
Ally • Home 1[F] • Hobbit
Strength 3
Vitality 3
Frodo Signet
Ring-bound. To play, spot Frodo.
Fellowship: Exert Sam and play a tale to heal Frodo or remove a burden.
"'Here's our collector of information! And he collected a lot, I can tell you, before he was finally caught. After which, I may say, he seemed to regard himself as on parole, and dried up.'"

(Update 1: Added lore, removed overformatting. Dropped vitality from 4 to 3.)

Sam is a slightly different sort of conspirator, his nose to the ground, and absent is his ability to take the Ring in the event of a Frodo-corpsing; instead Sam comes with diverse nursing potential as long as there's a story being written.

•Stinker, Ensnared
Ally • Home 8[K] & 9[K]
Strength 8
Vitality 4
Enduring. Lurker. To play, discard a minion from play.
At the start of each fellowship phase, each player reveals a card at random from hand.
Response: If the Ring-bearer takes a wound, discard Stinker to play a minion named Gollum from your discard pile; he is damage +1 and fierce until the regroup phase.

(Update 1: Removed overformatting. Dropped cost from 6 to 3. Swapped Ambush for Enduring. Changed card-revealing text from movement-based to the start of the fellowship phase. Added damage +1 to the Response effect.)

And I had to do something really weird to finish. This Gollum costs 6 because his inception actually signified a dramatic shortfall in Sauron's influence over Middle-earth, further illustrated by the to-play text.

I wanted Gollum to do something omni-unhelpful for all players regardless of side, and I wanted Gollum to be able to summon the genuine version of himself in a pinch - I figure right whenever the Ring-bearer is weakest seems best.

Also this Shadow ally can skirmish, but only from Gorgoroth onward.

[Shapeshifter]

The yellow text is really hard to read, but cool idea. Is it for movie block?

[menace64]

Sorry I got a little carried away with formatting - is it Gandalf's color that's difficult to see?

As for block, who's to say? They feel like movie block!

[Shapeshifter]

No worries. Yes, it's the Gandalf one 

[Phallen Cassidy]

•Gimli, Envoy of Erebor
Ally • Home 3[F] • Dwarf
Strength 6
Vitality 3
Frodo Signet
Damage +1.To play, spot a Dwarf and 3 Free Peoples cultures.
While the fellowship is at a mountain or underground site, Gimli participates in archery fire and skirmishes.

•Legolas, Messenger of Mirkwood
Ally • Home 3[F] • Elf
Strength 6
Vitality 3
Frodo Signet
Archer. To play, spot an Elf and 3 Free Peoples cultures.
While the fellowship is at a forest or river site, Legolas participates in archery fire and skirmishes.

Poor Gimli's made to walk into The Balrog, haha. While both of them (but especially Legolas) could be brutal in a Fellowship block choke deck, I appreciate how the spotting requirement makes that at least require some thought to pull off. Gimli with Elrond finally makes A Royal Welcome worthwhile, though you probably may as well stick to Shoulder to Shoulder. I have a big opinion that Decipher should've kept Horn of Boromir around and released more cards like Ranks Without Number, so I don't have much issue with the extra free skirmisher.

•Gandalf, Wandering Wizard
Ally • Home 1[F] & 5[T] & 3[K] • Wizard
Strength 6
Vitality 4
Aragorn Signet
Ranger. To play, add or spot 3 Shadow cultures.
While skirmishing a fierce minion, Gandalf is strength +2.
Assignment: If the twilight pool has 10 or more twilight tokens, exert Gandalf to allow him to participate in skirmishes until the regroup phase.

I can be persuaded to remove the ranger keyword from Gandalf but I really do like it here. And I like how he can splash into any FP deck, coming out to fight each and every time the shadow gets too thick (or once per movie site path!).

Of course, he won't be skirmishing at site 1[F] It's fitting, though. Did you mean for Gandalf's ability to be Assignment? If the Shadow player can't use up 10 twilight by the assignment phase, the FP is either playing a big fellowship (doesn't need the extra skirmisher), the Shadow player has a bad hand or is bluffing one (doesn't need the extra skirmisher), or the FP player played a ton of expensive things this turn (doesn't deserve the extra skirmisher). My first thought would be a Fellowship ability, but it wouldn't perhaps be as thematic (Gandalf does not try to bring attention to himself). What about a response or triggered ability? I've a few thoughts, but I wouldn't hamper your creative process with my preconceived notions. I'm more comfortable pointing out problems and leaving the solution as an exercise for the reader

The potential issue with a Gandalf ally is his access to so many great utilities, but the best ones require exerts and there's no longer access to any companion healing. Plus his home sites are fitting for a roamer (i.e., he's unsupported). It's interesting because having 5 companions other than Gandalf with access to all his stuff is something worth doing, but you won't get as much mileage out of him if you don't make him an integral part of your deck in which case you may as well use him as a companion. He'd be really great for big fellowship decks because big fellowship hate targets companions, not allies, and every big fellowship would be made better with Gandalf. And yet, Memory of Many Things would ruin a strategy... It's tough to say how this would play out, but it'd be worth seeing.

•Aragorn, Protector of the Shire
Ally • Home 1[F] & 2[F] & 3[F] • Man
Strength 8
Vitality 4
Gandalf Signet
Ranger. Defender +1. To play, exert Gandalf or Elrond
Response: If your Hobbit (or ally whose home site is 1[F] or 2[F]) takes a wound, exert Aragorn to prevent that wound.

Should read "... is about to take a wound" (and then you don't need to reuse the word "wound" at the end, though I think it's done both ways in LotR), for what that's worth. I think I'm a fan of the play cost you've got: it's really fitting and appropriate for what he can potentially do, but you really ought to either start Gandalf in your fellowship or invest in having him or Elrond out early - the last thing you'd want is to play Aragorn and his prerequisite in the same turn outside of the first two Fellowship block sites. However, there may be a conflict between the cost and his ability because it'll be darned hard to fit him into a Hobbit deck (all the same, since his skirmishing potential is his value). He can protect the Ring-bearer and the men of Bree; that's probably sufficient.

One Whom Men Would Follow would be interesting for this fellow. He can bring himself or another ally into the fray - a budding king! He can also protect ally Gandalf from being wounded, which is nice.

•Boromir, Champion of Gondor
Ally • Home 3[K] & 6[K] • Man
Strength 7
Vitality 3
Denethor Signet
Knight. Valiant. To play, exert Denethor or spot no cards in your dead pile.
While the fellowship is at a battleground site (or if you spot 3 cards), Boromir participates in archery fire and skirmishes.

Valiant! It'll be darned hard to get anything out of that, but I like Valiant enough that I don't care I'm interested in your plans for a Denethor signet. The second spot cost will be hard to miss, I think (not that it's an issue). He's a Gondor ally with vitality, though I don't remember what that really means (I remember wanting one, though!). Blade of Gondor in particular would have interesting implications.

•Frodo, Favored Relation
Ally • Home 1[F] • Hobbit
Strength 3
Vitality 4
Gandalf Signet
Ring-bound. To play, spot Bilbo bearing The One Ring.
At the start of each fellowship phase, exert the Ring-bearer (or add a burden) to play a ally from your draw deck.
Regroup: Exert Bilbo and Frodo to make Frodo a companion and the Ring-bearer (resistance 5), then discard Bilbo.

I see you've made him unable to filter all allies out of the deck I'd still probably use this guy in any Shire ally setup. Goes nicely with Practically Everyone Was Invited, and the ability to pull in Hobbit Party Guests when you need them is great. Chaining the Ring down from Bilbo to Frodo to Sam would be interesting, but I don't know what the point would be except to remove burdens. At any rate, having an ally ready to replace a companion is an interesting concept and takes away the largest downside of Sam, the companion slot (unless your deck is devoted to him). Note that the Free Peoples is invincible again at site 9 unless there are fierce minions, since the Shadow player would have no way to get at Frodo without specifically having ally discarding (wounds would never stick). Perhaps put a cap on how far Bilbo can carry the ring and still give it to Frodo?

I'd be interested to see what one could do with a Ring-bound ally. Into the Caves could uniquely bring Frodo into the fray. The only issue (other than site 9) I can see is that Frodo can bear Sting and also be healed by Hobbit Party Guests as an ally (without a specific ruling I'd make the case that Frodo no longer has a home site as a companion, but I can see people debating that), which means with Baggins Heirloom he's a free +6 pump for Smeagol every turn or with Elven Long Knife he's a threat removing machine.

•Merry, Shrewd Conspirator
Ally • Home 1[F] & 2[F] • Hobbit
Strength 3
Vitality 4
Frodo Signet
To play, spot Frodo and 3 Hobbits.
Each time you play a stealth card, you may exert Merry to remove (limit once per phase).

•Pippin, Young Conspirator
Ally • Home 1[F] & 2[F] • Hobbit
Strength 3
Vitality 4
Frodo Signet
To play, spot Frodo and 3 Hobbits.
Each time you play a possession, you may exert Pippin to remove (limit once per phase).

There's probably a dozen cards that break these two wide open, so in case of such a conundrum assume my cards were written first and Decipher erred.

What does this note mean? I'm afraid I don't quite understand.

As far as the companions go, I don't really see an issue with them. The limit and scope make abuse look difficult to me. The spot requirements make splashing for a choke deck harder to do without planning for it, which is exactly how it should be in my mind.

•Sam, Reluctant Conspirator
Ally • Home 1[F] • Hobbit
Strength 3
Vitality 4
Frodo Signet
Ring-bound. To play, spot Frodo.
Fellowship: Exert Sam and play a tale to heal Frodo or remove a burden.

I'm sure you noticed how well he pairs with your ally Frodo - nice job! He's a burden removal machine, but again requires devotion. You need a real reason to peel those burdens off to justify not using a companion version of Sam instead.

•Gollum, Ensnared
Ally • Home 8[K] & 9[K]
Strength 5
Vitality 4
Ambush . Lurker. To play, discard a minion from play.
Each time the fellowship moves, each player reveals a card at random from hand.
Response: If the Ring-bearer takes a wound, discard this ally from play to play a minion named Gollum from your discard pile; he is fierce until the regroup phase.

Well, he's certainly weird! I'm afraid I'm not a fan of this one, and I'm hoping my critique will be constructive above all else

He's omni-unhelpful, but the (very steep) cost is fronted by the person playing it. A little backwards, don't you think? He also prevents a minion copy of Gollum from being played unless the Ring-bearer takes a wound, and then doesn't give a terrific benefit once that happens. Supposing revealing a card from hand won't be his primary function, the cultural enforcement keeps him from being used in Southron decks where the Free Peoples has a reason to think twice before assigning him to his doom (that and there's only got 2 sites to try it). I love fringe cards, but as cool as a potential Shadow ally is I can't think of any reason to use him. I've got an idea, but I'd much rather see what else your thoughts are.


Are you planning on making any complementary cards for this set? There are a few cards which could discard these key allies outright, but in many more aspects these characters gain immunity by sitting it out in the support area. After set 4 Decipher largely restricted the function of allies to supporting and utility, and after set 7 it stopped supporting allies altogether (Goldberry and Tom Bombadil excluded) -- which means counters for allies were diminished too. Those are some pretty tough restraints you'll have to work around if you want to pick up where Decipher left off

[menace64]

  Maaaaaan I was forty seconds from hitting Post when my session timed out. Just got this computer and some auto-log-out shafted my big nice response.

Computers. I hate them.

I need to go eat lunch and mentally regroup. I think you made a lot of excellent points and I'd just rewritten Gandalf and Gollum entirely - I'll be back.

 

[menace64]

Poor Gimli's made to walk into The Balrog, haha. While both of them (but especially Legolas) could be brutal in a Fellowship block choke deck, I appreciate how the spotting requirement makes that at least require some thought to pull off. Gimli with Elrond finally makes A Royal Welcome worthwhile, though you probably may as well stick to Shoulder to Shoulder. I have a big opinion that Decipher should've kept Horn of Boromir around and released more cards like Ranks Without Number, so I don't have much issue with the extra free skirmisher.

As an old player accustomed to chucking a Dwarf Guard or 2 at Durin's Bane, I think this is a particular strength of the culture worth honoring. In general, I'm also cool with pushing allies a bit, since there's a number of silver bullets out there for them.

Of course, he won't be skirmishing at site 1[F] Wink It's fitting, though.

Flavor > Utility, every time!

Did you mean for Gandalf's ability to be Assignment? If the Shadow player can't use up 10 twilight by the assignment phase, the FP is either playing a big fellowship (doesn't need the extra skirmisher), the Shadow player has a bad hand or is bluffing one (doesn't need the extra skirmisher), or the FP player played a ton of expensive things this turn (doesn't deserve the extra skirmisher). My first thought would be a Fellowship ability, but it wouldn't perhaps be as thematic (Gandalf does not try to bring attention to himself). What about a response or triggered ability?

Yes but I also wanted him to be more useful than my first pass. You nailed down why he isn't quite working, although I'm mostly all right with his effectiveness being quasi-murky, dependent on unlikely bad moments.

•Gandalf, Wandering Wizard
Ally • Home 1[F] & 5[T] & 3[K] • Wizard
Strength 6
Vitality 4
Aragorn Signet
Ranger. To play, add 2 or spot 3 Shadow cultures.
While skirmishing a fierce minion, Gandalf is strength +2.
Response: If the twilight pool has 12 or more twilight tokens, exert Gandalf and add to allow him to participate in archery fire and skirmishes until the regroup phase.

Now he's back to 4 cost, but his action is a Response against 12 tokens (the minimum required for a cheap Balrog), and on top of that the action dumps more just for S&Gs. This is more like what I wanted him to be: expensive, good in a pinch, unreliable.

The potential issue with a Gandalf ally is his access to so many great utilities, but the best ones require exerts and there's no longer access to any companion healing. Plus his home sites are fitting for a roamer (i.e., he's unsupported). It's interesting because having 5 companions other than Gandalf with access to all his stuff is something worth doing, but you won't get as much mileage out of him if you don't make him an integral part of your deck in which case you may as well use him as a companion. He'd be really great for big fellowship decks because big fellowship hate targets companions, not allies, and every big fellowship would be made better with Gandalf. And yet, Memory of Many Things would ruin a strategy... It's tough to say how this would play out, but it'd be worth seeing.

I think he'd fit perfectly into Ent decks.

Should read "... is about to take a wound" (and then you don't need to reuse the word "wound" at the end, though I think it's done both ways in LotR), for what that's worth.

I get that backwards just about every time.

I think I'm a fan of the play cost you've got: it's really fitting and appropriate for what he can potentially do, but you really ought to either start Gandalf in your fellowship or invest in having him or Elrond out early - the last thing you'd want is to play Aragorn and his prerequisite in the same turn outside of the first two Fellowship block sites. However, there may be a conflict between the cost and his ability because it'll be darned hard to fit him into a Hobbit deck (all the same, since his skirmishing potential is his value). He can protect the Ring-bearer and the men of Bree; that's probably sufficient.

One Whom Men Would Follow would be interesting for this fellow. He can bring himself or another ally into the fray - a budding king! He can also protect ally Gandalf from being wounded, which is nice.

Yeah I agree that it'd be tough to fit this 'Gorn into a typical Hobbit build. He works better in or Shire/Bree ally decks (which I may be trying to make into a thing haha). I remembered OWMWF last night and thought it neat how Aragorn could summon himself into the role of a companion.

Valiant! It'll be darned hard to get anything out of that, but I like Valiant enough that I don't care Smiley I'm interested in your plans for a Denethor signet.

Valiant is criminally underpowered, and from my keyboard I say give it to every version of Boromir. He's closer to the Rohirrim than the books (or movies) really present, and I like the overlap here.

Honestly I forgot that the Denethor signet wasn't a thing - I checked the Denethor cards in RotK during my last attempt at responding to your review and was dumbstruck to find TWO Aragorn signets - like, I'm sure this bugged me when the cards were new, but I'd completely forgotten and now find myself just as annoyed as I was, what, fifteen years ago!? Why no Denethor signet, Decipher - WHY?  

Chaining the Ring down from Bilbo to Frodo to Sam would be interesting, but I don't know what the point would be except to remove burdens.

Fun! And it's a "good" way of dealing with Shadow players stacking Shadow conditions / Blade Tips on the Ring-bearer.

Note that the Free Peoples is invincible again at site 9 unless there are fierce minions, since the Shadow player would have no way to get at Frodo without specifically having ally discarding (wounds would never stick). Perhaps put a cap on how far Bilbo can carry the ring and still give it to Frodo?

Unless there's been a rules change I've forgotten, there isn't a Regroup phase at site 9.

I'd be interested to see what one could do with a Ring-bound ally. Into the Caves could uniquely bring Frodo into the fray. The only issue (other than site 9) I can see is that Frodo can bear Sting and also be healed by Hobbit Party Guests as an ally (without a specific ruling I'd make the case that Frodo no longer has a home site as a companion, but I can see people debating that), which means with Baggins Heirloom he's a free +6 pump for Smeagol every turn or with Elven Long Knife he's a threat removing machine.

Into the Caves. What a weird/dumb/confusing card. I'd say if a player wants to put Sting on Frodo, that's fine, although in most decks where he's useful I imagine Sting would be of greater utility up front with a companion. I do think I want to drop this ally-Frodo to 3 vitality. He's slightly more pampered here and it'd help curtail some of the abuse you've highlighted.

As far as the companions go, I don't really see an issue with them. The limit and scope make abuse look difficult to me. The spot requirements make splashing for a choke deck harder to do without planning for it, which is exactly how it should be in my mind.

Good! I try to be careful with choke effects. Glad Merry and Pippin seem balanced.

He also prevents a minion copy of Gollum from being played unless the Ring-bearer takes a wound

That alone was enough for me to rewrite the card. Gollum doesn't need any more restrictions.

•Stinker, Ensnared
Ally • Home 8[K] & 9[K]
Strength 8
Vitality 4
Enduring. Lurker. To play, discard a minion from play.
At the start of each fellowship phase, each player reveals a card at random from hand.
Response: If the Ring-bearer takes a wound, discard Stinker to play a minion named Gollum from your discard pile; he is damage +1 and fierce until the regroup phase.

I took a page out of the next batch of allies I've been working on and gave this subtle version of Gollum a new name and a tweaked game text. I halved his twilight cost, bumped up his strength to 8, and swapped Ambush for Enduring, which really highlights his dangerous potential as an ally waiting for his chance to pounce at the end of the site path. There's also a damage bonus in the Response effect.

And in the meantime, his card-revelation effect now triggers at the start of the FP player's turn, hitting all players equally and before anybody has an opportunity to do anything.

And now I'm going to hit Post before anything else goes wrong.

[menace64]

I've got another batch of allies and anti-allies, but this time I'm gonna try something different (for me) and not post the design notes. That being said, I've definitely got some weird ones in here, so upon request I can go into more detail!

•Enslaved
Condition • Support Area
To play, spot a Man.
Each time you take control of a site, stack an ally (or 2 villagers) from play here.
Shadow: Spot a minion and return to play X cards stacked here to play X Men from your discard pile; their twilight costs are each -X.
"Wulf took Edoras and sat in Meduseld and called himself king."

•Balin, Last King of Moria
Ally • Home 4[F] • Dwarf
Strength 0
Vitality 0
When you play Balin, stack a Dwarf from your dead pile here. If no Dwarf is stacked here, place Balin out of play.
Balin may not bear cards or participate in archery fire and skirmishes.
At any time during a skirmish involving a Dwarf, you may return a Dwarf stacked here to your dead pile to take the next skirmish action.

•Gildor Inglorion, Noldorin Exile
Ally • Home 2[F] • Elf
Strength 6
Vitality 4
Frodo Signet
Muster. To play, spot an Elf in your dead pile.
Regroup: Exert Gildor Inglorion twice to discard a Shadow condition borne by a companion.
"'I name you Elf-friend; and may the stars shine upon the end of your road! Seldom have we had such delight in strangers, and it is fair to hear the words of the Ancient Speech from the lips of other wanderers in the world.'"

•Gwaihir, Scion of Manwë
Ally • Home 4[F] & 9[K] • Eagle
Strength 10
Vitality 3
Gandalf Signet
To play, spot Gandalf (or Radagast).
While you can spot an archer, Gwaihir may not participate in archery fire or be assigned to a skirmish.
Response: If your Wizard takes a wound, exert Gwaihir to return that Wizard to your hand instead.
"'Light as a swan's feather in my claw you are.'"

•Her, Nasty Secret Friend -FP
Ally • Home 8[K] • Spider
Strength 8
Vitality 8
To play, spot Sméagol and no unbound companions.
Each time the fellowship moves, exert Her to shuffle a card from your discard pile into your draw deck.
If Her is exhausted, you lose the game.
Regroup: Discard Sméagol (or Her) to discard Gollum (or Shelob).

•Halbarad, Ranger of Eriador
Ally • Home 1[F] & 2[F] • Man
Strength 7
Vitality 3
Aragorn Signet
Ranger. To play, spot a ranger.
Maneuver: If the current site is a battleground or a forest, exert Halbarad to allow an ally (except ) whose home site is 1[F] or 2[F] to participate in archery fire and skirmishes until the regroup phase.
"'I have thirty with me,' said Halbarad. 'That is all of our kindred that could be gathered in haste.'"

Saruman's Voice
Event • Regroup
Spell.
Exert Saruman to discard an ally or an exhausted unbound companion (except Gandalf).
"Of loftier mould these two were made: reverend and wise. It was inevitable that they should make alliance. Gandalf would ascend into the tower, to discuss deep things beyond their comprehension in the high chambers of Orthanc. The door would be closed, and they would be left outside, dismissed to await the allotted work or punishment. Even in the mind of Théoden the thought took shape, like a shadow of doubt: 'He will betray us; he will go...'"

•We Cannot Get Out
Condition • Support Area
Search.
Each time an ally exerts, spot 4 Orcs (from in play or stacked on conditions) to place a second token for that exertion.
Regroup: Discard 4 Orcs (from in play or stacked on conditions) to take control of a site. Discard this condition.
"'We cannot get out. We cannot get out. They have taken the Bridge and second hall. Frár and Lóni and Náli fell there.'"

Coastal Raid
Event • Assignment
Assign your corsair to an ally. If that corsair wins the skirmish, draw a card.
"'And there men of Lamedon contested the fords with fell folk of Umbar and Harad who had sailed up the river.'"

•Théoden, Wearied King
Ally • Home 3[T] • Man
Strength 1
Vitality 3
(where signet or resistance should be)
To play, spot a villager. Théoden may not bear cards or be assigned to a skirmish.
Each other Man and unbound companion not bearing a weapon is strength +1 for each villager you spot.
Regroup: If no companion lost a skirmish this turn, place Théoden out of play to play a companion from your draw deck; that companion's twilight cost is -3.

•The Mouth of Sauron, Sorcerer-slave
Ally • Home 8[K] & 9[K] • Man
Strength 9
Vitality 3
Sauron Signet
Each time you play a event, you may exert The Mouth of Sauron to return that event to your hand instead of discarding it.
Skirmish: Exert The Mouth of Sauron to make an ally or unbound companion skirmishing a Orc strength -1 for each Ring-bound companion.
"...and he learned great sorcery, and knew much of the mind of Sauron, and he was more cruel than any orc."

•Bilbo, Master Baggins
Ally • Home 1[F] • Hobbit
Strength 3
Vitality 3
Gandalf Signet
Ring-bound.
Fellowship: Exert Bilbo and spot another ally whose home site is 1[F] to play a tale or Hobbit from your discard pile.
"When Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence, there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton. Bilbo was very rich and very peculiar, and had been the wonder of the Shire for sixty years, ever since his remarkable disappearance and unexpected return."

•Silent Watchers, The Wailing-stones
Ally • Home 7[K]
Strength 0
Vitality 3
To play, spot a minion (or a Nazgûl). Silent Watchers may not bear possessions or be overwhelmed.
Each time a Ring-bound companion heals, add .
At the start of each assignment phase, you may exert Silent Watchers to assign it to a Ring-bound companion.
"...blocks of stone, immovable, and yet they were aware..."

[menace64]

No Dots Allowed.

The Great Plague
Condition • Support Area
Tale. To play, spot 3 Men.
At the start of each fellowship phase, the Free Peoples player must wound an ally or unbound companion.
At the start of the regroup phase, discard a Man or discard this condition.
"Soon after a deadly plague came with dark winds..."

The Great Plague should be a card (or maybe ), but given 's general lack of everything, I think it's okay to shift themes a little bit. Any excuse to bring a tale to the culture!

This card will put pressure on both sides, and almost demands that the FP player toss in a few allies lest the Plague come for their precious companions.

Blue Mountain Trader
Ally • Home 2[F] • Dwarf
Strength 5
Vitality 3
Muster. (At the start of the regroup phase, you may discard a card from hand to draw a card.)
To play, spot a Dwarf.
Each time you draw a card during the regroup phase, exert a Dwarf ally.
"The ancient East-West Road ran through the Shire to its end at the Grey Havens, and dwarves had always used it on their way to their mines in the Blue Mountains."

I'm not sure this Dwarf needs a drawback, but functionally it just adds an exert cost to Muster, unless of course all your Dwarf allies are exhausted, in which case they press on tirelessly.

Sentinel of Nimrodel
Ally • Home 6[F] • Elf
Strength 4
Vitality 3
Archer. (Add 1 to the fellowship archery total.)
To play, spot an Elf.
This ally is strength +1 for each artifact you spot (limit +3).
"'None of the Orcs will ever return out of Lórien. And there will be many Elves hidden on the northern border before another night falls.'"

Another Lorien archer, this Elf is made stronger by fancy infrastructre.

Return of the Grey Wizard
Event • Fellowship
Exert Gandalf to heal a wound (or 2 wounds if you can spot Narya) from up to 3 allies of the same home site.
"'It is a joy to see you return into your own. Never again shall it be said, Gandalf, that you come only with grief!'"

A very Gandalf-thing to do.

Throttled
Event • Shadow or Skirmish
Stealth.
Exert Gollum and spot a Free Peoples character (except the Ring-bearer) to exert that character. Until the regroup phase, Gollum gains:
"Skirmish: Wound Gollum X times to wound the spotted Free Peoples character X times."
"A long clammy hand went over his mouth and another caught him by the neck, while something wrapped itself about his leg. Taken off his guard he toppled backwards into the arms of his attacker."

And a very Gollum-thing to do.  

I love writing kill cards in . Basic package: Exert Gollum to exert a FP character (except the Ring-bearer), either during the Shadow phase or during a Skirmish - at event speed. After that, during any skirmish Gollum can wound himself to wound that same FP character: throttling them at peril to his own life.

This one card can convert all of Gollum's vitality into wounds on 1 FP character. There's parameters of timing but it absolutely forces the FP player to focus resources on Gollum lest his target die.

Dúnadan Ranger
Ally • Home 1[F] & 2[F] • Man
Strength 5
Vitality 2
Aragorn Signet
Ranger. To play, spot a ranger.
Response: If a Shadow player plays an event during the shadow or maneuver phase, exert this ally to remove .
"'But when dark things come from the houseless hills, or creep from sunless woods, they fly from us.'"

It felt so good putting as the twilight cost. Aragorn, Strider was my benchmark here, and I think I'm okay with the result.

Regiment of Black Crows
Ally • Bird
Strength 3
Vitality 2
Search. Spell. To play, spot Saruman (or 6 companions).
Response: If the Free Peoples player plays an event outside of the fellowship or skirmish phase, exert this ally to cancel that event. Then, you may replace the fellowship's current site.
"'They are not natives here; they are crebain out of Fangorn and Dunland... Hollin is no longer wholesome for us: it is being watched.'"

And this I suppose is the ranger's mirror. Very splashable against big fellowships, and outright cancels the event alongside a site replacement (and that's mostly just flavor).

Shrieking Bat
Ally • Home 4[F] & 5[F] • Bat
Strength 1
Vitality 1
Ambush . To play, spot a (or ) condition.
Skirmish: Make a companion skirmishing this minion strength -2. Discard this ally.
"There were fissures and chasms in the walls and floor, and every now and then a crack would open right before their feet."

The net effect of the Bat is that it's a strength -1 skirmish event that the Free Peoples player can shoot at.

Iron Bonds
Possession • Chains
Bearer must be a unique Man.
While borne by that Man, he is strength +1 and fierce.
Response: If bearer wins a skirmish, transfer this possession to a wounded ally. That ally loses its culture and game text, gains , and can't participate in archery fire or skirmishes.
"...and all the mariners were filled with a madness of terror and leaped overboard, save the slaves chained to the oars.

A very silver bullety kinda card, for specific decks against specific decks. I had to word it oddly to make sure the bonuses didn't, you know, transfer to the ally.

Called to Arms
Event • Fellowship
Exert Théoden (or exert 2 valiant companions) and spot X villagers to allow those villagers to participate in archery fire and skirmishes at this site.
"'Arise now, arise, Riders of Théoden! / Dire deeds awake, dark is it easteard. / Let horse be bridled, horn be sounded! / Forth Eorlingas!'"

Summon your army, King Théoden! I don't even mind that this can be a big site-9-win card, since I want the player to reap a big reward for keeping villagers alive.

Tower Interrogator
Ally • Home 8[K] • Man
Strength 12
Vitality 3
Damage +1. Toil 2. To play, spot a or artifact.
Shadow: Exert this ally and spot a Free Peoples character not bearing a possession. Name a culture and reveal the top card of any draw deck. If the revealed card matches the named culture, discard that character.
"'Very dreadful things live there. Orcs, yes always Orcs; but worse things, worse things live there too.'"

There might be too much going on here. I want this ally to be scary-to-encounter if you as the FP do nothing about him in advance. He can use other minions to come out cheaper, but demands some commitment from a shadow player wanting to run him.

The Shadow ability might be garbage. It's not generally going to be better than 50/50, but conditionally it can be excellent.

Mathom-house
Condition • Support Area
Dwelling. To play, spot a Hobbit ally.
When you play this condition, stack a possession or artifact from your discard pile here.
Fellowship: Exert a Hobbit ally whose home site is 1[F] to transfer a possession or artifact stacked here to an eligible bearer.
"It was a tendency of hobbit-holes to get cluttered up: for which the custom of giving so many birthday-presents was largely responsible... there were one or two old mathoms of forgotten uses that had circulated all around the district."

I'm imagining a new ally or two able to better-manipulate this card. But here's the Mathom-house anyways; stay tuned for more.

Barrow-wight
Ally • Home 2[F] • Wraith
Strength 6
Vitality 6
Enduring. Twilight. To play, spot a Nazgûl and stack a card from the Free Peoples player's dead pile here.
Each time a or card is transferred to the Ring-bearer, you may exert this ally to allow it to participate in skirmishes and fierce skirmishes until the regroup phase.
"'In the black wind the stars shall die, / and still on gold here let them lie...'"

I wanted a weird one. Only works after a companion has died, and gets progressively stronger the longer they linger in your support area.

Next up: More of the same.  

[Shapeshifter]

Good work! I really can't tell how good they are gameplay-wise..but..

•Balin, Last King of Moria
Ally • Home 4[F] • Dwarf
Strength 0
Vitality 0
When you play Balin, stack a Dwarf from your dead pile here. If no Dwarf is stacked here, place Balin out of play.
Balin may not bear cards or participate in archery fire and skirmishes.
At any time during a skirmish involving a Dwarf, you may return a Dwarf stacked here to your dead pile to take the next skirmish action.

Nice concept. Sounds like a mechanic that could be explored further!

•Gwaihir, Scion of Manwë
Ally • Home 4[F] & 9[K] • Eagle
Strength 10
Vitality 3
Gandalf Signet
To play, spot Gandalf (or Radagast).
While you can spot an archer, Gwaihir may not participate in archery fire or be assigned to a skirmish.
Response: If your Wizard takes a wound, exert Gwaihir to return that Wizard to your hand instead.
"'Light as a swan's feather in my claw you are.'"

More Eagles ftw! I missed them in the RotK block! 

[Phallen Cassidy]

Whew! You are far outpacing my ability to look over the set For what it's worth I almost always use an exernal text editor to work on long posts--I just find it easier, especially that I don't have to peer into that tiny box to see what I'm typing or scroll around so much to see what I'm referencing.

Firstly, my bad on the Frodo ally. As I was writing him up, I forgot his ability was Regroup: and not Response: in the style of Sam. Frodo's ability is perfect as is: the Free Peoples must plan for when to swap Ring-bearers and the Shadow Player can force a change in that plan. I think reducing the new Hobbit allies' vitality to 3 is a good move.

•Gandalf, Wandering Wizard
Ally • Home 1[F] & 5[T] & 3[K] • Wizard
Strength 6
Vitality 4
Aragorn Signet
Ranger. To play, add 2 or spot 3 Shadow cultures.
While skirmishing a fierce minion, Gandalf is strength +2.
Response: If the twilight pool has 12 or more twilight tokens, exert Gandalf and add to allow him to participate in archery fire and skirmishes until the regroup phase.

•Stinker, Ensnared
Ally • Home 8[K] & 9[K]
Strength 8
Vitality 4
Enduring. Lurker. To play, discard a minion from play.
At the start of each fellowship phase, each player reveals a card at random from hand.
Response: If the Ring-bearer takes a wound, discard Stinker to play a minion named Gollum from your discard pile; he is damage +1 and fierce until the regroup phase.

Now the re-writes. The new Gandalf is very nice. He'll be skirmishing much more often towards the end of the game, but adding enough twilight for a potential extra minion is a great counterweight. Swarm decks may have a harder time using up the excess twilight (but the Free Peoples will need an extra skirmisher), and beatdown decks will be able to use that twilight effectively and make it a real decision for the Free Peoples whether or not that extra twilight is worth bringing Gandalf in.

Stinker is a much more interesting card now. He requires effort to work into a Ninja Gollum deck but makes that worth doing, and adds some incentive to playing Gollum in any Sauron deck. The twilight and discard costs make sense now: you discard a minion early in the game (when they're more expensive) to gain an advantage late in the game, same as most of the Sauron conditions. With the strength boost and addition of Enduring, there's a less automatic decision in playing Gollum when the Ring-bearer takes a wound and a greater benefit to doing so.

I've got another batch of allies and anti-allies, but this time I'm gonna try something different (for me) and not post the design notes. That being said, I've definitely got some weird ones in here, so upon request I can go into more detail!

I'll do my best to conjure the intent of your cards, then, and you can tell me how far off I am I've probably mentioned before that I don't usually comment on balance/improvements of dream cards, but it came up in chat a few days ago so perhaps it bears repeating. Dream cards aren't necessarily supposed to be like the rest of the game--that's kind of the point, right?

•Enslaved
Condition • Support Area
To play, spot a Man.
Each time you take control of a site, stack an ally (or 2 villagers) from play here.
Shadow: Spot a minion and return to play X cards stacked here to play X Men from your discard pile; their twilight costs are each -X.
"Wulf took Edoras and sat in Meduseld and called himself king."

Give Dunland an advantage for doing the thing they do best and punish the Free Peoples for relying too much on vulnerable lands, and when the Dunlending horde is called away to fight you can bet it'll be devastating. The Free Peoples has to think about whether or not to discard the condition or hold out to reclaim those allies, and the Shadow player has to decide when the extra minions are most necessary and when to keep support away from the Free Peoples. Freca will be particularly punishing. Should there be a counterbalance when those sites are liberated?

•Balin, Last King of Moria
Ally • Home 4[F] • Dwarf
Strength 0
Vitality 0
When you play Balin, stack a Dwarf from your dead pile here. If no Dwarf is stacked here, place Balin out of play.
Balin may not bear cards or participate in archery fire and skirmishes.
At any time during a skirmish involving a Dwarf, you may return a Dwarf stacked here to your dead pile to take the next skirmish action.

Hmm... Balin: king of a rapidly falling peoples, but king nonetheless. Note that "once the vitality reaches 0 that character is killed and removed from play," though you can get around that. And there's no definition for "out of play" so I assume you mean "remove Balin from the game." Also, I can't quite figure out what the next skirmish action does for the Free Peoples. A little help?

•Gildor Inglorion, Noldorin Exile
Ally • Home 2[F] • Elf
Strength 6
Vitality 4
Frodo Signet
Muster. To play, spot an Elf in your dead pile.
Regroup: Exert Gildor Inglorion twice to discard a Shadow condition borne by a companion.
"'I name you Elf-friend; and may the stars shine upon the end of your road! Seldom have we had such delight in strangers, and it is fair to hear the words of the Ancient Speech from the lips of other wanderers in the world.'"

I'd kill an Elf for Muster. The ability is perfectly fitting for keeping Nazgul out and the influence of Sauron off of the Ring-bearer, but Muster is this guy's biggest asset.

•Gwaihir, Scion of Manwë
Ally • Home 4[F] & 9[K] • Eagle
Strength 10
Vitality 3
Gandalf Signet
To play, spot Gandalf (or Radagast).
While you can spot an archer, Gwaihir may not participate in archery fire or be assigned to a skirmish.
Response: If your Wizard takes a wound, exert Gwaihir to return that Wizard to your hand instead.
"'Light as a swan's feather in my claw you are.'"

This is a solid response ability. You won't be able to use it to save an exhausted wizard, but the eagles can rescue one on the brink. Doing what they do best! The anti-archer flavor is a nice touch, too.

•Her, Nasty Secret Friend -FP
Ally • Home 8[K] • Spider
Strength 8
Vitality 8
To play, spot Sméagol and no unbound companions.
Each time the fellowship moves, exert Her to shuffle a card from your discard pile into your draw deck.
If Her is exhausted, you lose the game.
Regroup: Discard Sméagol (or Her) to discard Gollum (or Shelob).

Darned hard to play this card--do RB fellowships which include Smeagol need a dedicated counter? Her will make splashing Smeagol as an early game redshirt a little riskier and make relying on Smeagol require a way to play him back every Fellowship phase (also adding a burden). But maybe the Fellowship should be more cautious in relying on a slippery sneak such as Smeagol, or at least include someone who isn't as vulnerable to The Ring's power in the Fellowship.

I'm also curious about the motivation for the auto-loss text. The stars would have to align for it to be a factor so it must be for canonical purposes with context I lack.

•Halbarad, Ranger of Eriador
Ally • Home 1[F] & 2[F] • Man
Strength 7
Vitality 3
Aragorn Signet
Ranger. To play, spot a ranger.
Maneuver: If the current site is a battleground or a forest, exert Halbarad to allow an ally (except ) whose home site is 1[F] or 2[F] to participate in archery fire and skirmishes until the regroup phase.
"'I have thirty with me,' said Halbarad. 'That is all of our kindred that could be gathered in haste.'"

Bringing the Rangers out where they perform best, not much to it. I think I remember a short bit with Halbarad in FotR, but that's the only one I've read so I'll have to leave how the card fits into lore as an exercise for the reader.

Saruman's Voice
Event • Regroup
Spell.
Exert Saruman to discard an ally or an exhausted unbound companion (except Gandalf).
"Of loftier mould these two were made: reverend and wise. It was inevitable that they should make alliance. Gandalf would ascend into the tower, to discuss deep things beyond their comprehension in the high chambers of Orthanc. The door would be closed, and they would be left outside, dismissed to await the allotted work or punishment. Even in the mind of Théoden the thought took shape, like a shadow of doubt: 'He will betray us; he will go...'"

A spell worthy of the great wizard! With the protection offered to early versions of Saruman and his vitality, I wonder that it might be a bit undercosted, though. Exhausting a companion isn't always easy, but it's never altogether difficult either.

•We Cannot Get Out
Condition • Support Area
Search.
Each time an ally exerts, spot 4 Orcs (from in play or stacked on conditions) to place a second token for that exertion.
Regroup: Discard 4 Orcs (from in play or stacked on conditions) to take control of a site. Discard this condition.
"'We cannot get out. We cannot get out. They have taken the Bridge and second hall. Frár and Lóni and Náli fell there.'"

I'm debating how to interpret the triggered action. I believe your intent is to simply put an extra token on an ally when that ally exerts, but "that exertion" makes me wonder if this card doesn't alter the cost (i.e., 'exert this ally to...' becomes 'exert this ally twice to...') as written. Either way, good counter for many of these allies and I'm very interested to see what becomes of Moria site control (and your explanation for it).

Coastal Raid
Event • Assignment
Assign your corsair to an ally. If that corsair wins the skirmish, draw a card.
"'And there men of Lamedon contested the fords with fell folk of Umbar and Harad who had sailed up the river.'"

Good way for these pirates to pillage and plunder.

•Théoden, Wearied King
Ally • Home 3[T] • Man
Strength 1
Vitality 3
(where signet or resistance should be)
To play, spot a villager. Théoden may not bear cards or be assigned to a skirmish.
Each other Man and unbound companion not bearing a weapon is strength +1 for each villager you spot.
Regroup: If no companion lost a skirmish this turn, place Théoden out of play to play a companion from your draw deck; that companion's twilight cost is -3.

King of Rohan, protected in his Golden Hall fortified by the might of his people. Interesting card, especially the "signet." The regroup ability is definitely secondary, I don't know that I'd ever use it without having an extra copy of Theoden in hand.

•The Mouth of Sauron, Sorcerer-slave
Ally • Home 8[K] & 9[K] • Man
Strength 9
Vitality 3
Sauron Signet
Each time you play a event, you may exert The Mouth of Sauron to return that event to your hand instead of discarding it.
Skirmish: Exert The Mouth of Sauron to make an ally or unbound companion skirmishing a Orc strength -1 for each Ring-bound companion.
"...and he learned great sorcery, and knew much of the mind of Sauron, and he was more cruel than any orc."

Sauron signet, now? Goodness, I wonder how this one will shake out. At this rate, the Free Peoples will need some ally hate There are a lot of ways for this guy to win the game.

•Bilbo, Master Baggins
Ally • Home 1[F] • Hobbit
Strength 3
Vitality 3
Gandalf Signet
Ring-bound.
Fellowship: Exert Bilbo and spot another ally whose home site is 1[F] to play a tale or Hobbit from your discard pile.
"When Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence, there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton. Bilbo was very rich and very peculiar, and had been the wonder of the Shire for sixty years, ever since his remarkable disappearance and unexpected return."

The compatibility with Red Book of Westmarch is surely not by accident. Old Bilbo and his tales! Fitting that he doesn't need to be surrounded by Shirefolk to carry on with his adventures.

•Silent Watchers, The Wailing-stones
Ally • Home 7[K]
Strength 0
Vitality 3
To play, spot a minion (or a Nazgûl). Silent Watchers may not bear possessions or be overwhelmed.
Each time a Ring-bound companion heals, add .
At the start of each assignment phase, you may exert Silent Watchers to assign it to a Ring-bound companion.
"...blocks of stone, immovable, and yet they were aware..."

Fascinating fellow, this one. Only good once, of course, but effectively works as Her Ladyship when one chooses to use it. The alternate Ring-bearers will be given more trouble, especially if they're unfortunate enough to have a damage bonus (allows a new copy to be replayed). The passive text is enough that a Shadow player could be very content to let this ally sit around in the support area the whole game.

I likely won't get to the next batch this week. Some very interesting ideas here, especially interested to see where you take Shadow allies and signets as concepts. You'll have to give me the boring mechanics on how you'd like to see those allies work sometime

[menace64]

Whew! You are far outpacing my ability to look over the set For what it's worth I almost always use an exernal text editor to work on long posts--I just find it easier, especially that I don't have to peer into that tiny box to see what I'm typing or scroll around so much to see what I'm referencing.

My mind doesn't swirl into DCing nearly as often as it once did, but I do tend to post in bursts of cards. I like throwing darts at boards and seeing what sticks. I'm actually doing all of this on my phone, with one ill-fated attempt made on my new roommate's computer. It's been such a long time since I've lived in the same house as a PC - I should have my own again soon, which'll help pretty much everything.

Firstly, my bad on the Frodo ally. As I was writing him up, I forgot his ability was Regroup: and not Response: in the style of Sam. Frodo's ability is perfect as is: the Free Peoples must plan for when to swap Ring-bearers and the Shadow Player can force a change in that plan. I think reducing the new Hobbit allies' vitality to 3 is a good move.

It's all good! And yeah, as soon as I dropped them to 3 vitality I felt much better - I was reminded of the trend in Decipher's allies to heavily restrict their vitality, with very obvious exceptions. I'll be trying to stick to that mandate going forward!

I'll do my best to conjure the intent of your cards, then, and you can tell me how far off I am I've probably mentioned before that I don't usually comment on balance/improvements of dream cards, but it came up in chat a few days ago so perhaps it bears repeating. Dream cards aren't necessarily supposed to be like the rest of the game--that's kind of the point, right?

It felt weird not tacking-on my usual blurbs along with each card; I'll not repeat that mistake again. My goal is to leave cards looking as if they might appear in a real set - no idea how often I get there, but that's where I'm always heading!

Give Dunland an advantage for doing the thing they do best and punish the Free Peoples for relying too much on vulnerable lands, and when the Dunlending horde is called away to fight you can bet it'll be devastating. The Free Peoples has to think about whether or not to discard the condition or hold out to reclaim those allies, and the Shadow player has to decide when the extra minions are most necessary and when to keep support away from the Free Peoples. Freca will be particularly punishing. Should there be a counterbalance when those sites are liberated?

Yes, and I'll be thinking about that. The card itself feels like it needs a trim, too.

I really want to keeping pushing those dynamics between having and not-having allies. Count on some more villager-protection in though, and more than likely the villagers will be getting better at skirmishing in the posts to come!

Hmm... Balin: king of a rapidly falling peoples, but king nonetheless. Note that "once the vitality reaches 0 that character is killed and removed from play," though you can get around that. And there's no definition for "out of play" so I assume you mean "remove Balin from the game." Also, I can't quite figure out what the next skirmish action does for the Free Peoples. A little help?

Falls of Rauros gave me the "out of play" terminology but it did feel unusual, yet necessary because I didn't want this already-dead version of Balin to wind up triggering threats or death effects.

Ultimately, this whole card is in service to a single moment: that one time Gimli used Balin's tomb as a hammer-mattress against the Cave Troll. I sincerely doubt there's much utility here, but Baruk Khazad gave me the mechanical right to "go there" with action-order manipulation and I couldn't think of a more-interesting not-Gandalf ally at the time.

I guess it doesn't really do anything. Functionally it skips the Shadow player's skirmish action, allowing you two in sequence if that's manipulatable to you in some fashion. Upon reflection I think I can summarize it so much simpler as

"Response: Spot your Dwarf in a skirmish to take the next skirmish action. Return a Dwarf stacked here to your dead pile."

I'd kill an Elf for Muster. The ability is perfectly fitting for keeping Nazgul out and the influence of Sauron off of the Ring-bearer, but Muster is this guy's biggest asset.

Good! I think Gildor could use some more attention!

This is a solid response ability. You won't be able to use it to save an exhausted wizard, but the eagles can rescue one on the brink. Doing what they do best! The anti-archer flavor is a nice touch, too.

Archers are inevitably going to be a hard counter to the Eagles.

Darned hard to play this card--do RB fellowships which include Smeagol need a dedicated counter? Her will make splashing Smeagol as an early game redshirt a little riskier and make relying on Smeagol require a way to play him back every Fellowship phase (also adding a burden). But maybe the Fellowship should be more cautious in relying on a slippery sneak such as Smeagol, or at least include someone who isn't as vulnerable to The Ring's power in the Fellowship.

I'm also curious about the motivation for the auto-loss text. The stars would have to align for it to be a factor so it must be for canonical purposes with context I lack.

I was trying to make Her seem like a dark motivator of Smeagol to make good on all his promises. An extremely specific and mouthfulicious card so I went ahead and made it Ring-bound only, which might not be necessary.

But Her is a Free Peoples ally, which is why I had to include an auto-lose: a free 8/8 ally at site 8K requires a drawback, and eventually I settled on a timer: Her gets hungrier every time you move, and if she gets too hungry - her retrieval ability isn't optional - she'll straight-up eat you.

Held is an old favorite card of mine. I take a cue from that whenever I write a card with massive potential drawbacks.

A spell worthy of the great wizard! With the protection offered to early versions of Saruman and his vitality, I wonder that it might be a bit undercosted, though. Exhausting a companion isn't always easy, but it's never altogether difficult either.

How about this instead:

"Regroup: Exert Saruman to discard an ally or an exhausted unbound companion (except Gandalf). Gandalf may exert to prevent this."

I'm debating how to interpret the triggered action. I believe your intent is to simply put an extra token on an ally when that ally exerts, but "that exertion" makes me wonder if this card doesn't alter the cost (i.e., 'exert this ally to...' becomes 'exert this ally twice to...') as written. Either way, good counter for many of these allies and I'm very interested to see what becomes of Moria site control (and your explanation for it).

I intended the former of your interpretations. Do you think it would sound better as "extra token" instead of "second token"? In the situation where an ally has the vitality to exert only once and does so to pay for an ability requiring that exertion, We Cannot Get Out shouldn't have any effect since that ally is then exhausted. I don't want WCGO to prevent normal ally behavior; just punishes them for their normal ally ways.

I've got an idea for I don't quite have ready to share. Soon!

King of Rohan, protected in his Golden Hall fortified by the might of his people. Interesting card, especially the "signet." The regroup ability is definitely secondary, I don't know that I'd ever use it without having an extra copy of Theoden in hand.

Yeah for some reason I'm leaning into that third stat slot a lot harder here than I have before. If I can use that space to make Theoden targetable as an Man, I will, gosh darnit!

The regroup effect was written in response to your first review of Stinker: I didn't want the FP player to get locked into keeping Theoden on the bench, so I added a way out via losing no skirmishes and tossing the weary king over your shoulder and out of play, allowing you to fetch his companion version or somebody else - and maybe right before a double move.

Sauron signet, now? Goodness, I wonder how this one will shake out. At this rate, the Free Peoples will need some ally hate There are a lot of ways for this guy to win the game.

I don't have any plans to take the Sauron Signet anywhere - it's likely a one-off for the Mouth, who I felt deeply desired a clear declaration of his dark allegiance.

That being said, his skirmish ability is all wrong. He shouldn't even be able to skirmish. Lemme rewrite this one!

The compatibility with Red Book of Westmarch is surely not by accident. Old Bilbo and his tales! Fitting that he doesn't need to be surrounded by Shirefolk to carry on with his adventures.

Complete accident. A Bobrossian accident!

Fascinating fellow, this one. Only good once, of course, but effectively works as Her Ladyship when one chooses to use it. The alternate Ring-bearers will be given more trouble, especially if they're unfortunate enough to have a damage bonus (allows a new copy to be replayed). The passive text is enough that a Shadow player could be very content to let this ally sit around in the support area the whole game.

I hadn't realized that the assignment gimmick could only ever work once. I think I like that, but now I'll probably drop the cost to .

I likely won't get to the next batch this week. Some very interesting ideas here, especially interested to see where you take Shadow allies and signets as concepts. You'll have to give me the boring mechanics on how you'd like to see those allies work sometime

There should be a few more cards for you to peruse when you return!

In my imagination it should work pretty much the same as before: Shadow player plays their allies to the support area, and whenever the fellowship moves to their home site, they come forward functionally as minions, returning to the support area once the fellowship leaves. Are there specific rules issues you see in incorporating Shadow allies?

Have a nice week! Thanks for all your input!

[menace64]

Good work! I really can't tell how good they are gameplay-wise..but..

•Balin, Last King of Moria
Ally • Home 4[F] • Dwarf
Strength 0
Vitality 0
When you play Balin, stack a Dwarf from your dead pile here. If no Dwarf is stacked here, place Balin out of play.
Balin may not bear cards or participate in archery fire and skirmishes.
At any time during a skirmish involving a Dwarf, you may return a Dwarf stacked here to your dead pile to take the next skirmish action.

Nice concept. Sounds like a mechanic that could be explored further!

Thanks! I like the idea of manipulating the dead pile - it feels like something Wraiths should be good at.

•Gwaihir, Scion of Manwë
Ally • Home 4[F] & 9[K] • Eagle
Strength 10
Vitality 3
Gandalf Signet
To play, spot Gandalf (or Radagast).
While you can spot an archer, Gwaihir may not participate in archery fire or be assigned to a skirmish.
Response: If your Wizard takes a wound, exert Gwaihir to return that Wizard to your hand instead.
"'Light as a swan's feather in my claw you are.'"

More Eagles ftw! I missed them in the RotK block! 

Me too! I didn't figure we'd see them until the Mount Doom set, but then it was just the 3 verbs, and a few clunky followers later on. Bummed me out, almost as badly as when Ents went into rather than their own culture.

So here's what I've done instead:

Eagle of the Misty Mountains
Ally • Home 4[F] & 9[K] • Eagle
Strength 9
Vitality 2
To play, spot Gwaihir.
While you can spot an archer, this ally may not participate in archery fire or be assigned to a skirmish.
Skirmish: Exert this ally to discard a Shadow mount.
"Behind them in long swfit lines came all their vassals from the northern mountains..."

I don't want this card to be very useful. It's weird that the eagle can discard mumaks, but I have a proposed alternative to that I'll be sharing soon.

Rush of Wide Wings
Event • Assignment
Spot 3 Eagles to allow those Eagles to skirmish at this site. They must be assigned to minions bearing mounts, if possible.
"Straight down upon the Nazgûl they bore, stooping suddenly out of the high airs, and the rush of their wide wings as they passed over was like a gale."

This gets Eagles scrumming and further investigates their mounting preoccupation with a specific class of possession. (It's in my contract not to apologize for lame puns.)

[menace64]

I've run out of time and this batch still isn't quite where I want it, but here's what I've got and I'll be back to tweak / respond later!

Part Five: Stomp Having a Good Time

Mûmak of Harad
Ally • Home 5[K] • Mûmak
Strength 10
Vitality 7
Fierce. To play, spot a Southron.
This ally is strength +2 for each Southron stacked on possessions it bears.
While this ally is participating in archery fire, add 1 to the fellowship archery total for each archer companion.
"...but the Mûmak of Harad was indeed a beast of vast bulk, and the like of him does not walk now in Middle-earth; his kin that live still in latter days are but memories of his girth and majesty."

Mûmak allies! Each one looks as strong as a Nazgûl, but if you play your cards right you might end up with multiple Balrog-level threats, come site 5[K]. The more Southrons you can get aboard, the stronger it becomes - naturally!

The fellowship archery bonus is here to help scale the FP side of things, opening up these enormous beasts to a x2 archery multiplier. You might be tempted to say "yeah but at 7 vitality who cares how many arrows you're taking?" and you'd be right - stick with me!

Howdah (V)
Possession • Armor
Fortification. When you play this possession, exert bearer. Bearer must be a Mûmak.
Shadow or Regroup: Exert bearer to stack a Southron from play here.
"...and behind them rose the huge backs of the mûmakil with war towers upon them."

And here's the engine - well technically it's a fortification, but that's not important right now.

Originally I had Southrons stacking directly onto the Mûmaks (and from the discard pile), but on fresh reconsideration I think I prefer them to stack on possessions and directly from play. Also, now if the FP player can find a way of getting rid of Howdah(V), they can get rid of a bunch of your Mûmak Southrons at the same time.

Howdah itself demands 2 exertions before becoming useful, dropping its base vitality to 5.

Mûmakil Rigger
Minion • Man
Strength 5
Vitality 2
Site Number 4[K]
Southron.
Response: If a possession borne by your Mûmak is about to be discarded, exert or discard this minion to prevent that.
Lorey lore.

Mûmakil Bowman
Minion • Man
Strength 6
Vitality 1
Site Number 4[K]
Southron.
While a Mûmak this minion is stacked on is participating in archery fire, the minion archery total is +1.
Lorey lore.

I hope "on" applies to minions stacked on possessions borne by allies. Yeesh that might be too much. Let's keep going for now.

Mûmakil Driver
Minion • Man
Strength 9
Vitality 3
Site Number 4[K]
Southron.
While stacked on a Mûmak, that Mûmak is damage +1.
Assignment: If a Mûmak this minion is stacked on is participating in skirmishes, exert this minion to assign that Mûmak to an unbound companion.
Lorey lore.

The high cost-to-stats ratio is there to offset the fact that they care more about getting stacked than they care about skirmishing.

•Advantaged Position
Condition • Support Area
When you play this condition, spot a Mûmak to draw a card.
While you can spot 3 Mûmaks, each Mûmak is strength +3.
Response: If your Mûmak (or a Southron stacked on your Mûmak) is about to be discarded, exert that Mûmak or discard this condition to prevent that.
Lorey lore.

I feel like this subculture requires some easy acceleration. Free draw, free strength pump (if you can get a line of Mûmaks out), and some ongoing discard control.

Barbed Chains
Possession • Tusk Weapon
Strength +4
Vitality -1
To play, exert a Southron. Bearer must be a Mûmak.
Skirmish: Exert bearer to discard a possession borne by a character it is skirmishing.
"His upturned hornlike tusks were bound with bands of gold and dripped with blood."

Careering
Event • Skirmish
Exert your Mûmak twice to make it damage +2 until the regroup phase. At the end of the skirmish, discard a fortification or a Southron stacked on that Mûmak.
"And then a great thudding and bumping, like huge rams dinning on the ground. 'Ware! Ware!' cried Damrod to his companion. 'May the Valar turn him aside! Mûmak! Mûmak!'"

For now I've worded Careering so that it can target Howdah(V) - if you run out of stacked Southrons or there's no structures left on the battlefield, your Mûmak can shake itself loose from its bondage.

There's a few other cards necessary here - I want to write a second, possibly unique Mûmak, along with a GAtS to go along with it. More verbs and minions. But this is the backbone of the mechanic, unless something goes terribly wrong!

[Shapeshifter]

Had to create this site

4[F] - Pinnacle of Orthanc -
Fellowship: Play Gwaihir from your draw deck or discard pile.

[Shapeshifter]

First try for an ally:

•Old Man Willow
Ally • Home 2[F] • Tree
Strenght: 7
Vitality: 4
If you spot Tom Bombadil, discard this ally.
Shadow: Exhaust Old Man Willow to exert X companions, where X is the number of forest sites you can spot.
"Merry was trapped; another crack had closed about his waist..."

[menace64]

Good choice! Old Man Willow is perfect as an ally. I'd like to go through your card and offer up my thoughts!

First try for an ally:

There is no try!

•Old Man Willow

Without knowing anything else, feels like the right cost. OMW certainly deserves a subtitle; I've procured a few:

Dark Heart
Heart of the Old Forest
Heart of the Withywindle

I'm not too sure if is the right culture for OMW but nothing's really gonna fit right. , , , , and all have arguments to be made for this ally, even as a Shadow card.  If I had to pick a simple answer, I'd say ; and as a complicated answer, a -Shadow.

Ally • Home 2[F] • Tree
Strength: 7
Vitality: 4

Looks good, but with strength 7 it seems more like a metaphysical-strength, seeing as he himself lacks great physical prowess. I feel like that's a key insight into the card's potential mechanics!

If you spot Tom Bombadil, discard this ally.

That's a pretty harsh built-in silver bullet, even if it's restricted to a rarely-used ally. I'd say keep it as-is and drop his twilight cost (maybe even to - your call!), or think about pulling this restriction back to something less than the worst case scenario.

"While you can spot Tom Bomadil or Goldberry, Old Man Willow is strength -2 (-4 if you can spot both)."

Shadow: Exhaust Old Man Willow to exert X companions, where X is the number of forest sites you can spot.

Unfortunately this breaks the game. Exhausting can be done infinitely (Frodo with 4 base vitality and 3 wounds can still be exhausted, infinitely.) So, with 1 forest site, you can exhaust every companion!

(I mean, I like it - go trees!)

I keep coming back to the "strength 7" bit. It is odd for a stationary tree, no? But (and I don't want to feel like I'm strangling your card - I just ramble) maybe give him a strength boost for each forest you spot?

Then, if you want to keep exhausting as a flavor-staple of the card - good call! - you could have a payout like "Exhaust each character that loses a skirmish to Old Man Willow."

But that still leaves some text space left over, maybe for getting him into skirmishes beyond site 2[F]?

"Merry was trapped; another crack had closed about his waist..."

Good succinct lore.

[Shapeshifter]

Without knowing anything else, feels like the right cost. OMW certainly deserves a subtitle; I've procured a few:

Dark Heart
Heart of the Old Forest
Heart of the Withywindle

Sounds good! I like the middle one. "Huorn, Dark Heart" would be a good name for a regular Tree minion.

I'm not too sure if is the right culture for OMW but nothing's really gonna fit right. , , , , and all have arguments to be made for this ally, even as a Shadow card.  If I had to pick a simple answer, I'd say ; and as a complicated answer, a -Shadow.

OMW doesn't seem to belong anywhere. seems logical though.

Ally • Home 2[F] • Tree
Strength: 7
Vitality: 4

Looks good, but with strength 7 it seems more like a metaphysical-strength, seeing as he himself lacks great physical prowess. I feel like that's a key insight into the card's potential mechanics!

The 7 strength was more a stab in the dark so maybe I should have left that out. Am I right that you would like his strength to be higher? I wanted OMW to be a bit more sophisticated than just another minion that you fight so the ability to exert companions felt suiting with they way he kills his victims slowly. He was going to be an anti-Hobbit ally but I felt maybe that was too limited.

If you spot Tom Bombadil, discard this ally.

That's a pretty harsh built-in silver bullet, even if it's restricted to a rarely-used ally. I'd say keep it as-is and drop his twilight cost (maybe even to - your call!), or think about pulling this restriction back to something less than the worst case scenario.

"While you can spot Tom Bomadil or Goldberry, Old Man Willow is strength -2 (-4 if you can spot both)."

Note taken!

Shadow: Exhaust Old Man Willow to exert X companions, where X is the number of forest sites you can spot.

Unfortunately this breaks the game. Exhausting can be done infinitely (Frodo with 4 base vitality and 3 wounds can still be exhausted, infinitely.) So, with 1 forest site, you can exhaust every companion!

Ooops..I didn't know that. His ability was meant to be a one-time thing only. So "Exert twice" would be better?

Thanks for the input! I'll digest it all for a potential second version

[menace64]

Today, inspired by Shapeshifter's card, we're spending some more time at site 2[F], in and around the borders of The Old Forest.

---------

•Old Man Willow, Darkroot
Ally • Home 2[F] • Tree
Strength 7
Vitality 4
Enduring. While the fellowship is at a forest site adjacent to a forest or a river site, Old Man Willow participates in skirmishes here.
Old Man Willow is strength +1 for each forest site you spot.
Response: If Old Man Willow is about to take a wound during a skirmish, exert an unwounded companion to prevent that.
"The leaves seemed to hiss above their heads... a loud scream came from Merry, and far from inside the tree they heard Pippin give a muffled yell."

This is basically a reprint/contortion of Huorn; I figured I'd borrow a couple elements from it but ended up using pretty much the whole thing, swapping Damage +1 for Enduring and then laying in the rest.

Old Man Willow can skirmish under certain site-adjacency scenarios (typically forest-forest but river-forest works too), evoking the feel of always finding yourself back in his clutches. He gets stronger the more forests you can spot, and he uses a bastardized version of Huorn's wound prevention to suck the life from his victims.

I've omitted any cultural enforcement in exchange for requiring considerable site manipulation to use optimally, a quirk carried through to Old Man Willow's second iteration.

---------

•Old Man Willow, Heart of the Withywindle
Ally • Home 2[F] • Tree
Strength 7
Vitality 4
Enduring. When you play Old Man Willow, play the fellowship's next site (if that site is a forest).
Shadow: Exert Old Man Willow to stack him on a forest site.
When the fellowship moves from a site Old Man Willow is stacked on, each unmounted companion must exert.
"'We don't want to go that way! The Withywindle valley is said to be the queerest part of the whole wood—the centre from which all the queerness comes, as it were.'"

And here's another shot, pushing his mechanics in a different direction. Same stats, still Enduring, but now he gets you a forest for free.

His Shadow ability allows him to bounce to any forest site, from either your support area or another forest site on the adventure path. And if the fellowship crosses paths with this tree, they're in for a hurtin' should they try to leave without the ponies!

This OMW requires support in the form of supplying additional forests: he gives you one for free, ensuring a big exert against ill-equipped fellowships, but I don't see him doing much else on his own.

---------

You Should Not Be Waking
Event • Maneuver or Regroup
Spell.
If the fellowship is at a forest site in Eriador, exert Tom Bombadil to discard a Shadow ally.
"'Old Man Willow! Naught worse than that, eh? That can soon be mended. I know the tune for him. Old grey Willow-man! I'll freeze his marrow cold... I'll sing his roots off.'"

As you might expect, Tom is a natural andidote to Old Man Willow and any other Shadow ally on his doorstep.

As for the bit about "a forest site in Eriador,"  well, to keep it brief I want to rename each site path's region to the corresponding in-Arda name. Many reasons for this...

---------

•Farmer Maggot, Hobbit of the Clay
Ally • Home 2[F] • Hobbit
Strength 3
Vitality 3
Fellowship: Exert Farmer Maggot to play an ally whose home site is 2[F] from your draw deck.
"...but he made no secret that he owed his recent knowledge largely to Farmer Maggot, whom he seemed to regard as a person of more importance than they had imagined. 'There's earth under his old feet, and clay on his fingers; wisdom in his bones, and both his eyes are open,' said Tom."

I've been a fan of Farmer Maggot since the very beginning. Chaser of Rascals was my favorite card in FotR: I would go on to collect the card like a dog with fleas. I thought it was so cool that he became a companion in Shadows (and a pretty good one!), but today I wanted to return Maggot to his original form: ally, and possibly more than that.

This Farmer Maggot can pull Tom Bombadil, Goldberry, Bounder, and a whole bunch of site-2 allies I've written in this thread, including Aragorn and his rangers, making him a sorta-central component in this emergent site-2 subculture.

---------

My work in has been stymied by the overhaul of the adventure path. I'm close to something fitting, I feel, and a couple odds and ends are likely to start creeping into my cards moving forward.

[menace64]

Old Forest Grove
Condition • Tree
To play, spot 3 cards. Plays on a non-underground site.
This site gains forest.
Regroup: If the fellowship is at this site, exert a ally whose home site is 2 and discard this condition to divert the fellowship.
"Just behind them a large branch fell from an old overhanging tree with a crash into the path. The trees seemed to close in before them."

In brief, diverting is the fresh name for a concept I've been kicking around, mainly my wish for a form of slowing a fellowship without outright halting movement. When a fellowship is diverted, it moves to a site chosen by the diverting Shadow player (restricted only to choosing a site in the same region). A turn at a diverted site wouldn't be a full turn - think of it more like 1/2, although I haven't bothered drawing hard conceptual lines around this mechanic. You could take it many ways, from restricting the turn to only the FP player and the DS (Diverting Shadow) player, preventing multiplayer games from spiraling too far out of control; you could skip entire phases, like Fellowship and Archery; you could prevent certain types of cards from being played, such as companions, minions (probably not), and possessions. Whatever makes diverting a fellowship a moderately powerful tool of the shadow, but not as devastating a weapon as forcing a second move.

Is it possible to divert a diverted fellowship? Maybe. I dunno.

(Site 2[F]) •Bonfire Glade
Site • Eriador
Forest. Ruin.
<---
Each Tree character is damage +1 for each Tree in each player's discard pile (limit damage +2).

So a site like this doesn't have much power, and only the Huorn and Old Man Willow care about Trees (for now).

You'll see I've added a Region type to the site, and I've separated the keywords from the game text. I want to maximize the game text space on sites - I'd actually prefer site keywords to become icons instead, but I'm presently limited by my means. In time!

[Phallen Cassidy]

Unfortunately this breaks the game. Exhausting can be done infinitely (Frodo with 4 base vitality and 3 wounds can still be exhausted, infinitely.) So, with 1 forest site, you can exhaust every companion!

Chiming in for a minute: sorry menace, but this is wrong. Exhaust means to "exert as many times as you can," and since an exhausted character cannot be exerted there's no harm there. However, supposing duplicate copies of allies will heal them (for free), this ally can be expected to use his ability 4 times in a game. Not game breaking, but still perhaps stronger than intended.

I just skulk around looking for opportunities to correct people who plan to have fun.

[menace64]

Happy to be wrong! From wrong comes right as my old gaffer used to say.

I'm starting to draw-together some more outlandish ideas, hopefully culminating with a brand new long-form format I plan to call something like Quest format. I don't know how many of the cards I'm working on right now are going to roll forward (although I love the thought of allies making a comeback in a big way) so for now let's just see where this goes...

---------

I had a thought: Could I conceive of an enjoyable set in which none of its cards were Companions? Would that be fun to open packs, pulling "only Allies"? Surely not! So I had a subsequent question: What's the minimum attention I could give to Companions that still relies on Allies?

Easy!

•Frodo, Fleeing the Shire
Companion • Hobbit
Strength 3
Vitality 4
Gandalf Signet
Ring-bearer (resistance 10).
Fellowship: Add to make an ally at this site (except Tom Bombadil or Goldberry) become a companion until the end of the quest.
"'But I do not think you need go alone. Not if you know of anyone you can trust, and who would be willing to go by your side—and that you would be willing to take into unknown perils.'"

Now every ally can be a companion! I have no idea how this might affect the Open cardpool, but in my hypothetical Second Edition this Frodo could call upon any of the allies I've written thus far, plus a whole slew of Classic reprints. Finally, Hobbit Farmer can go to Mount Doom!

---------

No Day Unguarded
Condition • Support Area
Stealth.
Response: If an ally whose home site is 1[F] or 2[F] is about to take a wound, exert a ranger (or spot a ranger and discard a stealth card from hand) to prevent that wound.
"'...though even when I was far away there has never been a day when the Shire has not been guarded by watchful eyes.'"

Fairly simple card, easy to cycle and keep around. I'm not a huge fan of Faramir & Company having access to this, but I don't think there's an easy way to exclude them... and it probably doesn't matter, since this card is only good if you've got a lot of early allies.

---------

•Faramir, Captain of Henneth Annûn
Ally • Home 2[K] & 4[R] • Man
Strength 7
Vitality 3
Denethor Signet
Ranger.
While roaming, Faramir is damage +1.
Response: If Faramir wins a skirmish, exert him to make him a Ring-bound companion until the end of the quest.
"'So that is the answer to all the riddles! The One Ring that was thought to have perished from the world... And here in the wild I have you: two halflings, and a host of men at my call, and the Ring of Rings.'"

You may question the need for such a card - "why not just run Faramir as a companion?" Fair point. And I'll admit this is a convoluted way to get a character into the fellowship. But if the Shire-to-Doom game format I'm developing actually works, it'll be in a player's interest to get some of these characters setup before they're needed!

Home 2[K] is for the outskirts of Minas Tirith, and 4[R] is the Ithilien wilderness along the Ring Site Path. Denethor's signet is back again, perhaps hinting at a bit more going on in Gondor than we've seen previously. As an ally Faramir can be recruited by Frodo FtS at site 4[R].

Now, Faramir requires himself to be roaming in order to get his damage bonus. I'm pulling an element straight out of Star Trek by adding culture icons onto sites, to signify any cards that are automatically roaming or not roaming, as well as adding additional spotability to the adventure path.

So, as a quick-and-dirty example:

(4[R]) Fence of Mordor
Site • Ithilien • , , ,
Exterior. Forest. Mountain.
<---
Skirmish: Discard a stealth card from hand to make your character strength +2.

This site is only playable along the Ring site path, and the native cultures are all Shadow (except , which generally has access to everywhere). Anybody else here is considered to be roaming, on both sides. So this is naturally where Faramir wants to be, himself roaming and likely preparing for an ambush.

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I've dolled this post up as much as I have time for at the moment. I feel like all these cards are beginning to pivot into something... bigger.

I may need another thread.

[menace64]

Today we're dipping our toes into some of the new mechanics incoming, mainly the Denethor signet and the revitalized Ally card type.

•Denethor, Sitting Steward
Ally • Home 3[K] & 4[K] • Man
Strength 6
Vitality 4
Denethor Signet
Each companion and ally here without the Denethor signet is strength -1.
Skirmish: Discard a card with the Denethor signet from hand to make an unbound companion (except Aragorn) strength +2.
"...upon the lowest step which was broad and deep, there was a stone chair, black and unadorned, and on it sat an old man gazing at his lap."

I wrote the twilight cost and knew I'd need to write something powerful and Denethorific to go along with it. So, signets. Signets by all rights should've been Denethor's biggest tool, and frankly I love how freely he is about flinging his people away in pursuit of winning the war. And of course Denethor doesn't have to exert to do any of this: just sit, and order.

I've set all Minas Tirith Allies as "3[K] & 6[K]" but, well, since Denethor doesn't exactly make it through the battle, I thought moving him to 3 & 4 a little pinch of flavor. I did consider having a line like "After site 5[K], discard Denethor." but I think he's enough of a painted-target as it is, and there will be plenty of ally hate in the posts to come.

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Fountain Guard
Ally • Home 3[K] & 6[K] • Man
Strength 9
Vitality 3
Denethor Signet
Knight. Damage +1. To play, spot 3 fortifications.
This ally may not roam.
"...and above the cheek-guards were set the white wings of sea-birds; but the helms gleamed with a flame of silver, for they were indeed wrought of mithril, heirlooms from the glory of old days."

Really super good at the two sanctuaries, but these allies can't roam (meaning they're unable to leave their home sites). Cheap though, and a bonus to any fortification-heavy decks.

I really didn't want to stick the Denethor signet onto Fountain Guard (for reasons way too dependent on lore to apply functionally, for once) but I needed a good strong ally to showcase some of what's going on in Gondor. There are going to be much better fodder for Sitting Steward to abuse, but this would do in a pinch since he's only actually useful in skirmishes at two sites.

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Sword of the Citadel
Artifact • Hand Weapon
Strength +1
Bearer must be a knight ally.
This artifact may be spotted as a possession.
Skirmish: Spot a fortification here and exert bearer to make him or her strength +2.
"...and none wore it now in all Gondor, save the Guards of the Citadel before the Court of the Fountain where the White Tree once had grown."

An option for a player willing to go all-in on the Minas Tirith culture (knights + allies + fortifications, basically), able to be borne by an as-yet-undetermined number of characters. There could be a unique Fountain Guard, and I imagine Imrahil would be a decent candidate. But there's bound to be a few knights represented as allies to represent the defense of the city. Characters we haven't seen before...

It's a great weapon but generally ceremonial, so its effectiveness comes with exertion. I had an effect just like that planned for the Fountain Guard, but decided to offload it onto the weapon itself.

I wanted this sword to be an Artifact but also be as vulnerable-to-discard as a possession. So, there.

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•By Our Valour
Condition • Support Area
To play, exert a ally.
Each time a character is killed or discarded, add a token here.
Regroup: Remove X tokens here to reveal X cards at random from a Shadow player's hand. That Shadow player shuffles any revealed minions into his or her draw deck.
"'By our valour the wild folk of the East are stil restrained, and the terror of Morgul kept at bay; and thus alone are peace and freedom maintained...'"

I don't feel like this card is quite finished but I mostly like the idea, and it synergizes well with Sitting Steward.

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Secret Soldiers
Event • Maneuver
Stealth.
Exert a ranger ally to wound a minion (or 2 minions if that ranger ally is roaming).
"He could see them stealing up the slopes, singly or in long files, keeping always to the shade of grove of thicket, or crawling, hardly visible in their brown and green raiment, through grass and brake."

This card might look familiar.

I had the name before I had the idea of screenshotting Secret Sentinels and simply putting a ranger twist on it; but that's what I ended up doing since the parallels between what each card is attempting to "say" are fairly apparent.

The wording is a little fine and relies on a concept which exists currently only in my brain: Roaming Freeps. Companions, Minions, and Allies each now have different rules for whether or not they're roaming:

Allies are roaming anytime they participate in any phase at a site other than those listed as their home sites. Elrond, a Site 3[F] Ally, is roaming if he does anything at literally any site except 3[F]. (OWMWF makes the ally it targets roaming.)

Companions are roaming anytime the fellowship occupies a site lacking their culture icon. Chamber of Mazarbul might be reprinted with and icons, meaning Gimli wouldn't be roaming here, but Legolas would be.

Minions work in nearly the same way as Companions, in that they're roaming at any site lacking their culture icon. However, this only applies until the current site matches the minion's site number, at which point normal non-roaming rules are in effect.

When extended to a 30-site game, there is one additional rule for roaming: if a [F], , , or [R] card appears outside of its matching site path, it's roaming. A minion with a site number of 4[F] is roaming at any non-[F] site, in addition to the parameters detailed above.

Sooo, with all of that in mind, Secret Soldiers gets pretty good as you rally your ranger allies into skirmishes, since skirmishing away from their home site triggers their status as roaming. Of course, Shadow players can potentially use this against you, but in 's case roaming happens to be a thing of a specialty...

[menace64]

We're in my favorite Shadow culture a bit today, but let's begin with a revision:

Enslaved
Condition • Support Area
At the end of each of your shadow phases, you may spot a unique Man to wound a non-unique ally.
Response: If you take control of a site, exert a Man to discard an ally at that site (or up to 2 villagers at that site). Discard this condition.
"Wulf took Edoras and sat in Meduseld and called himself king."

I've massively-simplified Enslaved's mechanics, removing the cumbersome ally-stacking without much hesitation. As this becomes less about random cards and more about reestablishing an entire environment, I'm toning-down some ideas as more iterable mechanics present themselves.

In the contest of the Response ability, 'at' refers to any ally whose home site matches the site-in-question, or any ally shifted to a dwelling at that site.

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•Saruman, Rabble-rouser (V)
Ally • Home 4[F] & 8[T] • Wizard
Strength 7
Vitality 4
To play, wound 2 Men.
At the start of each phase, you may exert Saruman and discard a Shadow card from hand to make each Man vitality +1 until the start of the next phase.

Of course a new Saruman would be an Ally. (Ignore the weird home sites for now.) But what's up with that To Play requirement? It's vicious! Wound two Dunlendings? Most of 'em don't even have any more than one vitality! And Saruman seems to be trying to help with 's vitality deficiency but that still comes with some hefty upkeep.

...What is this card??

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Well here's two reasons maybe-why I think the new Saruman is pretty good:

Hill Brute
Minion • Man
Strength 6
Vitality 2
Site Number 2[T]
Enduring.
Lore TBD.

(Yes, site 2[T]. is now never-roaming on the site path.)

Hill Warrior
Minion • Man
Strength 7
Vitality 2
Site Number 2[T]
Enduring.
Response: If a Man wins a skirmish, exert this minion to take control of a plains site.
"‘They will not give way now for dusk or dawn...'"

The revamped faces of the rabble are threefold: Enduring, site control, and ally hate (specifically villagers). I realize the Warrior's Response effect doesn't technically jive with the official rules; please work off the assumption that this card exists in a format where Shadow players take control of sites adhering to rules allowing for the capturing of selected sites instead of "lowest to highest". And you can take control of a site even if there's a fellowship there.

But yeah! Enduring! It won't swing things much but I think it mixes really well into the culture: after all, these hillfolk have been nursing their grudges for a long, long time. So now, taking a cue from Hill Chief, I want Men to want to exert, and I want each of those exertions to matter, even if it's only to make them physically stronger.

You'll want Rabble-rouser(V) to drop his wounds off on some of the less-useful minions (like the Brute). Choosing when to start the phase-to-phase vitality buff could be difficult since it can quickly become a crutch, extending the range and intensity of your Dunlending's enduring fury at the expense of your hand. (Saruman will be able to help with that.)

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Hill Club
Possession • Hand Weapon
Strength +2
Bearer must be a Man.
While wounded, bearer is damage +1.
"‘...and Saruman has armed the wild hillmen and herdfolk of Dunland beyond the rivers...'"

It's no War Club, but that's okay. Hill Club serves to bolster some of the damage dealt by your Enduring Dunlendings.

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•Fram's Plate, Plunder of Ered Mithrin
Artifact • Shield
Vitality +2
Bearer must be a Man. He is unique.
The fellowship archery total is -2.
Each minion skirmishing this Man does not gain strength bonuses from weapons and loses all damage bonuses.
The legends of Fram's victory over Scatha, the great dragon of Ered Mithrin, were well-known even to the sparse hillfolk now roving the region.

Every culture deserves artifacts, so when I set out to make a badass artifact for I went looking for some old Rohirric or Dunlending legend or hero to build a non-canon very-Decipher-like card around. I landed on the passage mentioning Fram's slaying of Scatha and the gift of dragon-teeth he made into a necklace. What else might Fram have made, to be lost in ruins for centuries until happened upon by hiillfolk?

A dragonshield, no less. Why not? Combination Mithril-coat, Great Shield, and some Seasoned Leader, and you end up with a God Tier magical item in the hand of a buncha hobos.

[Shapeshifter]

Considering how the Eagles are up in the air watching Sauron's armies; how about something similar to Treachery Deeper than You Know?

The Eyes of Manwe
Event • Fellowship
Spot an Eagle ally to reveal an opponent's hand.
You may shuffle 1 of those cards back into his or her draw deck.
"And the Eagles of the Mountains went far and wide, and they saw many things:
the gathering of wolves and the mustering of Orcs..."

Feel free to improve/change anything!  

[menace64]

I love it! Anything that makes Eye of Barad-dur more interesting is a win in my book! And it's got a good blend of flavor with a solid pro for running allies.

[menace64]

felt pretty stale after RotK. Companions, possessions, okay. Rohan. Well, in the spirit of allies making a return, I figured I'd go for something a bit different.

Horse of the Golden Hall
Ally • Edoras • Horse
Strength (+)3
Vitality (+)1
To play, spot a dwelling.
Maneuver: Exert a villager to transfer this ally from your adventure area to a Free Peoples Man, Elf, or Wizard: it becomes a Mount Possession (in addition to other keywords) until the end of this quest.
Lore TBD.

I've noticed a desire to condense Home Site mechanics on allies. Since any site or dwelling with Edoras in the title (or keywords) would count, this makes it easier to find where allies go in the adventure area. Otherwise I'd have to write "3[T] & 1[K]" and that's not even close to the most convoluted home siting I've run into.

On the real card, the "(+)" icons would be small, secondary in focus to the regular Strength and Vitality numbers. Cards with these icons are allies that can transfer to other characters (horses, Ent-bound Hobbits, Fell Beasts, etc.) and whatever their base stats are become boosts for the borne. If this sounds like Followers it's because functionally I suppose it is: but Followers were never classified as characters, so at least I've fixed that.

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•Éomer, Defender of Rohan
Ally • Rohan • Man
Strength 7
Vitality 3
Théoden Signet
Valiant.
Response: If Éomer bears a mount and any Shadow player takes control of a site, exert Éomer to prevent that.
Lore TBD.

Straightforward and potent. This ally version of Eomer will need help getting into skirmishes, but fortunately his effect doesn't require him to fight directly. Just give him a horse and let him say to the Shadow players, "Come and get me, bro."

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•Éowyn, Steelsheen
Ally • Edoras • Man
Strength 5
Vitality 3
Théoden Signet
Valiant.
While bearing a hand weapon, Éowyn is strength +2.
Maneuver: Exert Éowyn and play a mount (or bearable Horse) on her from your hand to allow her to participate in archery fire and skirmishes at this site.
"...but Éowyn was slender and tall, with a grace and pride that came to her out of the South from Morwen of Lossarnach..."

Weaker base stats, but give her a sword and she's immediately a match for her brother, and more: I loved the mechanic introduced in BoHD of playing possessions in an ambushy fashion, so that's moving forward into whatever set this eventually becomes. In this case, Eowyn can grab a horse during the maneuver phase and go riding off into battle.

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One more, real quick:

•Güthwine
Possession • Hand Weapon
Strength +2
Bearer must be Éomer. He is damage +1.
Response: If Éomer kills a unique minion, exert him to liberate a site or discard a Shadow ally. (Limit once per skirmish.)
Lore TBD.

Not much to it, but the game is overdue for a Guthwine.

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So I've got material now for every culture. Any requests? I'm just writing cards across all three books, and I'll segment them into sets later on. So it's all up for request!

[Shapeshifter]

I'm a fan of Gandalf, so let's see what you have for the culture

[menace64]

has lots of new stuff in the works, but one thing I can tell you concretely about the culture is that I've taken it back to its roots: Actually Gandalf. No Bree. No Dale. No Ents. (I've kept Eagles but they are my exception that makes the rule!)

•Gandalf, Wielder of the Flame
Companion • Wizard
Strength 7
Vitality 4
Gandalf Signet
While diverged, Gandalf is strength +4 and damage +1.
Each time Gandalf is assigned to a fierce minion, you may exert him to play a weapon (or staff) onto him from your hand or discard pile.
"Gandalf stood in the middle of the span, leaning on his staff in his left hand, but in his other hand Glamdring gleamed, cold and white. His enemy halted again..."

I think I've rambled about diverging once already, but here's a basic recap: various cards (typically during the regroup phase) can diverge your fellowship, either temporarily separating a companion to a divergent site (this can happen on The Bridge of Khazad-dum (V)) or permantently forking a fellowship, yielding an array of potentials: Ring-bound, War-bound, and Ent-bound. (But we'll come back to those another time!)

This Gandalf is ready to fight if he's put to task, spiking to 11 strength with a damage boost when diverged. And WotF carries-over from his Ally persona a buff against fierce minions, this time borrowing a bit of 's propensity for playing weapons irregularly. Note that this effect can trigger twice per minion, if Gandalf takes both assignments!

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•Gandalf's Cart, Bearer of Merriments
Possession • Support Area
Fellowship: Stack a non-Ring artifact or possession from hand (or from play) here.
Fellowship or Regroup: Play a card stacked here as if played from hand.
"Small hobbit-children ran after the cart all through Hobbiton and right up the hill. It had a cargo of fireworks, as they rightly guessed."

I almost gave Gandalf's Cart a straight reprint; it's just so cool the way it is that I was almost too afraid to touch it. Almost. Bearer of Merriments - or as I call it, the Bom - does all the collecting it used to do, but now it's limited to items instead of Freeps. Kind of a bummer, but I've expanded its utility elsewhere by adding a Regroup option. Also, there's this:

Dwarven Cart
Possession • Support Area
To play, spot a Dwarf ally.
Felowship: Stack a Free Peoples non-Ring artifact or possession from hand here. (Limit 3 cards.)
Fellowship or Regroup: Exert a Dwarf to play a card stacked here as if played from hand.
"An odd-looking wagon laden with odd-looking packages rolled into Hobbiton one evening... It was driven by outlandish folk, singing strange songs: dwarves with long beards and deep hoods."

Nearly Gandalf's Cart, but non-unique and requiring at least 1 Dwarf ally to function. I quite prefer this utility being moved to ; already has enough to do!

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...LIKE FIREWORKS!!

Butterfly Fountain
Possession • Support Area
Firework. Spell. To play, spot Gandalf (or Gandalf's Cart).
Fellowship: Reveal the top 2 cards of your draw deck. If any of the revealed cards are allies whose home site matches Gandalf's current site, you may play those allies if able (for free). Replace the revealed cards and discard this possession.
"At other times there were merely lots of people eating and drinking—continuously from elevenses until six-thirty, when the fireworks started... There were fountains of butterflies that flew glittering into the trees..."

I want all of the fireworks to illuminate the top of draw decks in some way, potentially netting a benefit but nothing too powerful.

Unfolding Spring
Possession • Support Area
Firework. Spell. To play, spot Gandalf (or Gandalf's Cart).
Fellowship: Reveal the top 2 cards of your draw deck. If any of the revealed cards are dwellings matching Gandalf's current region, you may play those dwellings if able. Replace the revealed cards and discard this possession.
"There were green trees with trunks of dark smoke: their leaves opened like a whole spring unfolding in a moment, and their shining branches dropped glowing flowers..."

Same function, just targeting dwellings instead of allies. (Dwelling is a new card type.)

Silver Spears
Possession • Support Area
Firework. Spell. To play, spot Gandalf (or Gandalf's Cart).
Fellowship: Reveal the top card of two different draw decks. If either revealed card is a Free Peoples card, draw a card. Discard this possession.
"...there was a forest of silver spears that sprang suddenly into the air with a yell like an embattled army, and came down again into the Water with a hiss like a hundred hot snakes."

Slightly different in that this firework illuminates the top card of 2 decks, netting a drawn card if either is a Freeps card.

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•They Were All Superb
Condition • Support Area
Tale.
Each time you discard a firework from play, you may add a token here.
Fellowship: Remove a token here to heal an ally at Gandalf's current site.
"...dwarf-candles, elf-fountains, goblin-barkers and thunder-claps."

I don't know how many cards will care about fireworks, but here's one of them! TWAS converts used fireworks into tokens you then use to heal allies close to Gandalf.

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•In Bilbo's Honour
Possession • Support Area
Firework. Spell. Tale. To play, spot Gandalf (or Gandalf's Cart).
At the start of each of your turns, you may discard this possession and spot 3 allies at Gandalf's current site to make that site a sanctuary this turn.
"Out flew a red-golden dragon—not life-size, but terribly life-like: fire came from his jaws, his eyes glared down; there was a roar, and he whizzed three times over the heads of the crowd."

Big Dragon Firework! Keyword extravaganza! ...sanctuary... creation? Not at all the same sort of firework as we've already seen, and you'll have to tell me if what I've written is a bad idea! 

[Shapeshifter]

I like the concept of fireworks! And the new Carts seem to make sense lorewise (I'm kind of fond of Dwarves too)

[menace64]

Thanks, Shapeshifter! I've been wanting to see firework cards forever - I'm dying to see In Bilbo's Honour with a picture of the dragon firework in Pippin's thieving little hands. Soon!

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Today, let's hit a card in each culture.

Cultural Differences
Event • Skirmish
Make an character strength +2 for each different race you can spot among allies whose home site is 2[F].
"The Big Folk and the Little Folk (as they called one another) were on friendly terms, minding their own affairs in their own ways, but both rightly regarding themselves as necessary parts of the Bree-folk. Nowhere else in the world was this particular (but excellent) arrangement to be found."

One of three new cultures you'll find in this post, stands for Arnor, a Free Peoples culture built around the Breeland and the Rangers of the North. Multiracialism is the big mechanic here, compounding off of the "Site 2[F]" cards posted previously. With a 30-site game in mind, a LOT of the cards in will be free but of limited use outside of the early game.

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Dunland Forager
Ally • Home 1[T] • Man
Strength 3
Vitality 2
Shadow: Exert this ally and spot a minion to draw a card for each site you control.
"...the last of the Dunlendish people that lingered..."

Just about the most worthless of Shadow allies, the Forager is still the best way to grab long-lerm spotting, if that's something you're looking for. He may matter a little more by the end of all this.

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Kindled Flame
Event • Fellowship or Regroup
Unless the fellowship is at a battleground or sanctuary site, exert a Dwarf at that fellowship's site to heal a companion.
"When the Dwarf had a small bright blaze going, the three companions drew close to it and sat together, shrouding the light with their hooded forms."

Easy wound transference, worded to allow Dwarf companions and participating Dwarf allies to use it.

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Close Connection
Event • Fellowship or Regroup
Exert an Elf companion to reveal the top 3 cards of your draw deck. Take a revealed or card into hand to heal a companion, then replace the other cards.
"...Legolas stood alone in the open, looking towards the profound shadow of the wood, leaning forward, as one who listens to voices calling from a distance."

(Eventually I'll stop writing / mirror cards - it's just so much fun!)

This broad-range healing event is practically guaranteed to work in a deck tailored around it, but it doesn't work with Elf allies. And it targets... ?

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Slumbering Power
Condition • Character
Bearer must be an Ent.
Skirmish: Exert an Ent-bound Hobbit and remove a threat from bearer to make bearer strength +2 and damage +1.
"‘Now let thy children beware! For there shall walk a power in the forests whose wrath they will arouse at their peril.'"

means Fangorn! Let's do it!

The core mechanic of is the cultivation of forests and Trees, as you might guess; and the Ents are exceptional at what they do, at the cost of being painfully slow. Lots of set-up, and I encourage players way ahead of even showing the rest of the culture: Don't wait until Rohan to start your Entgame.

I'm also toying with the idea of moving threats from the dead pile straight onto individual Freeps characters. I haven't explored it much yet, but it shows up as a cost on many cards, and themes like Denethor's Madness will fit nicely later on.

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•Narya, Heart-kindler
Artifact • Ring
Vitality +1
Bearer must be Gandalf.
Each time Gandalf wins a skirmish, you may exert him twice and spot 3 allies at his current site to liberate a site.
Fellowship: Exert Gandalf and spot an ally in the fellowship's current region. Until the regroup phase, that ally is strength +2 and participates in archery fire and skirmishes.

Badass Ally Ring, reporting for duty! I think all of this is straightforward, offering just about any Freeps deck a method for rallying allies to battle.

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We Won't Let Him Have It -FP
Condition • Support Area
To play, spot Sméagol.
Response: If a Shadow player draws a card (except when reconciling), exert Sméagol and spot less than 5 burdens to discard that card. Discard this condition.
"‘Yes, yes, my precious,' came the answer, ‘we promised: to save our Precious, not to let Him have it—never.'"

The biggest problem with writing Gollum cards is how narrow his cultural identity feels. He doesn't do much more than generally wreck everything; so, in an effort to not make every card about wounding and maiming and throttling, I want to introduce a new cultural identity I call espionage. Basically, is about to get really good at mucking up your card engines, your card recycling, your card manufacturing - he's coming after it all.

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•Return of the King
Event • Regroup
Tale.
Reveal the top 7 cards of your draw deck. Play any Aragorn revealed (for free), then place the remaining revealed cards on the bottom of your draw deck in any order.
"‘I deemed that the time was ripe, and that the Stone had come to me for just such a purpose... Too seldom has he been challenged since he returned to his Tower.'"

I have a cycle of cards all with set names - this one is all for Aragorn.

I also hope to write a more robust set of persona-changing rules than "you can't", which will increase this card's overall utility manifold.

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•Saruman, Master of Orthanc
Ally • Isengard • Wizard
Strength 8
Vitality 4
Saruman may not take archery wounds or be assigned to skirmishes.
Shadow or Regroup: Exert Saruman (or discard a Tree) to play an ally from your draw deck. (Limit once per phase.)
"‘He is plotting to become a Power. He has a mind of metal and wheels; and he does not care for growing things, except as far as they serve him for the moment.'"

allies are almost universally Orcs, those pit breeders and metalsmiths Saruman was so fond of. But there's a Crebain ally that can be pulled, and who knows what else is coming?

I'll need a whole post to unpack the new culture.

[menace64]

(Part 2!)

The Siege of Gondor
Event • Shadow
Play a siege weapon from your draw deck.
"All day the labour went forward, while the men of Minas Tirith looked on, unable to hinder it. And as each length of trench was completed, they could see great wains approaching; and soon yet more companies of the enemy were swiftly setting up, each behind the cover of a trench, great engines for the casting of missiles."

And the final new culture to reveal: for Morgul, a new Shadow culture encompassing the dark settlements of the Ephel Duath, and the bulk of the Orcish forces attacking Minas Tirith. Siege weapons (and thus dwelling/fortification hate), Nazgûl ally support, and a presence along 2 different site paths (Ring-bound and War-bound) will make a good late game Shadow option.

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Impassable Door
Event • Response
If the fellowship moves to a site, spot 3 Goblins to halt the fellowship. The Free Peoples player may reveal any of the following from hand to prevent this: a artifact, a or tale, a riddle, or Gandalf.
"‘Dwarf-doors are not made to be seen when shut,' said Gimli. ‘They are invisible, and their own masters cannot find them or open them, if their secret is forgotten.'"

Signaling a bevy of new terms, Impassable Door is legal only in 30-site play, unless older sites get retconned to having culture icons! Halting the fellowship prevents it from moving again that turn, unless the move limit is raised.

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•Insurrection
Condition • Support Area
To play, spot 3 Corsairs, 3 Easterlings, 3 Southrons, or 3 Variags.
Each time a Free Peoples token is added, reveal 3 cards from hand to reinforce a token.
At the start of each regroup phase, the Free Peoples player may remove 4 Free Peoples tokens to discard this condition.

Relentless token copying, but when Insurrection is working the Freeps player will also (potentially) have the resources to discard it with an offering...

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•Éomer, Fell King
Companion • Man
Strength 10
Vitality 4
(No Signet)
War-bound. Damage +1. Enduring. Valiant.
At the start of each skirmish involving Éomer, wound him.
Skirmish: Unless Éomer is exhausted, exert him.
"‘Out of doubt, out of dark to the day's rising / I came singing in the sun, sword unsheathing. / To hope's end I rode and to heart's breaking: / Now for wrath, now for ruin and a red nightfall!'"
(In honor of AgentDrake)

Here's an Éomer fit to give Third Marshal a run for his ridderbucks! The idea for this springs from an old card of AD's, which I've merely facelifted into my design specifications. Thanks, AgentDrake!  

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(This card should have a •-like dot in front of its name. Imagine an open diamond where uniqueness would go since the forums are being fussy with me.)

Nightmare
Condition • Companion
To play, spot a dwelling (or 5 burdens). Bearer must be Ring-bound or War-bound.
At the start of each fellowship phase (except at sanctuary sites), if bearer has 2 or more wounds, the Free Peoples player must discard a card from hand matching bearer's culture, if able.
"He saw lights like gloating eyes, and dark creeping shapes, and he heard noises as of wild beasts or the dreadful cries of tortured things..."

(New •) is a new level of uniqueness, settling between non-unique and unique. I haven't arrived at a hard definition for it yet, but when it's on a condition it translates to "limit 1 per area", referring to whatever it's played on/to.

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Bywater Dandy
Possession • Support Area
Pipeweed. To play, spot 3 Hobbit allies. When you play this possession, add a pipeweed token here.
Fellowship or Regroup: Remove a pipeweed token from here (or discard this possession) and exert a character bearing a pipe to discard a Shadow condition borne by that character.
"A great deal of mystery surrounds the origin of this particular custom, or ‘art' as the Hobbits preferred to call it."

There's bound to be some pipeweed support forthcoming in , but Bywater Dandy should work pretty well for Hobbits, for now.

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Midnight Raid
Event • Assignment
If the fellowship is in Eriador, assign your Nazgûl to an ally. If that Nazgûl wins the skirmish, draw a card.
"‘In dark and loneliness they are strongest; they will not openly attack a house where there are lights and many people—not until they are desperate, not while all the long leagues of Eriador still lie before us."

I still haven't quite landed on a new flagship Nazgûl mechanic, but you better be sure they're still good at eating allies.

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(Site 1[F]) Party Tent
Eriador • The Shire •
--->
Fellowship: Play a Hobbit ally to play a firework or pipeweed possession from your draw deck.

Party on, Wayne!

[Shapeshifter]

What if the Fangorn culture included other regions, like Druadan forest(woses), Old forest(huorns, OMW), perhaps also Mirkwood & Ithilien? Sort of a general "forest" culture with both Shadow and FP cards.. Radagast for sure would belong there too.

[menace64]

What if the Fangorn culture included other regions, like Druadan forest(woses), Old forest(huorns, OMW), perhaps also Mirkwood & Ithilien? Sort of a general "forest" culture with both Shadow and FP cards.. Radagast for sure would belong there too.

  I wonder...

You've got me scratching my head on this one. While I wouldn't want to splash-in the Woses or Radagast (the former fits fine into , and the latter ), they'd both make excellent splash cards in this hypothetical Mono-forest culture. Moving Old Man Willow and all the other Tree-related cards in to would open up an intriguing design angle, and here's two points in your proposition's favor:

1. Adventure Area: Active cards. In my current iteration of the rules for this new card zone, cards there are always active, enabling for broader interactions between FP and SH cards. Up until now this has been more of a personal-preference thing, but by moving Old Forest to and splitting the culture down the middle (it'll actually probably be 80/20) you end up with:
2. Treespotting. I already have Ents requiring Trees in order to do things (they also care about how many Ents and Trees have been killed), and adding spottable Trees into a SH side would really, really help get the culture on its roots.

(I think you convinced me! )

---------

Another thing I'm trying to pay more attention to with this unfurling 30-site concept is the idea of setting up mid- and late-game cultures earlier than you need them. Some cultures will be more difficult to accelerate in this way, while some cultures naturally bleed into others. (Arnor -> Gondor, for example).

My Cousin Hal
Event • Fellowship
Tale.
Exert a Hobbit ally whose home is in The Shire (or spot Sam as an ally) to play a non-unique character from your draw deck.
"'But this one was as big as an elm tree, and walking—walking seven yards to a stride, if it was an inch.'"
'Then I bet it wasn't an inch. What he saw was an elm tree, as like as not.'
'But this one was walking, I tell you; and there ain't no elm trees on the North Moors.'
'Then Hal can't have seen one,' said Ted."

I love that bit from the book, and figured this might be a cheap method for a player to transition from Hobbits to Ents. Honestly I'm not sure how it'll all work out, but it feels right.

---------

Thanks for your insight, Shapeshifter! My computer needs some repairs so I won't be posting as many cards for the time-being, but I've kinda already made the mental decision to move OMW, so that'll happen once I'm all repaired! is looking great!

[menace64]

Fell Beast (V)
Possession • Mount
Strength +2
Search. Bearer must be a Nazgul ally.
Assignment: Discard 2 cards from hand to allow bearer to participate in skirmishes at this site.

Wraith on Wings
Ally • Any [R] or Site • Nazgul
Strength 10
Vitality 3
Fierce. To play, spot 3 Shadow dwellings, each of a different culture.
This ally may only take wounds during a skirmish involving it.
Maneuver: Exert this ally and spot a non-unique Free Peoples character. Until the start of the regroup phase, that character is strength -1.

Those literally just popped into my head. Hot cards! What do you think?

[menace64]

Today I just wanna throw some random cards at the wall. Some of these might lead deeper down a design tunnel but at the moment any of these could find themselves cut... from the first set..

At the Sign of the Prancing Pony
Condition • Support Area
Each time you play an dwelling, you may add to play an ally whose home is Bree from your draw deck.
Regroup: Spot a ranger companion and discard this condition to draw a card.
"The door was open and light streamed out of it. Above the arch there was a lamp, and beneath it swung a large signboard: a fat white pony reared up on its hind legs."

(the Arnor culture) shares 's strength for populating adventure areas. You'll want to wait to use the Regroup ability until you see how many of these you can balance against your ranger-choking, but it's good in prep of any double-move.

—————

From Houseless Hill
Event • Maneuver
Exert 2 unbound rangers in Eriador to discard a Shadow dwelling in the same region.
"‘Peace and freedom, do you say? The North would have known them little but for us. Fear would have destroyed them. But when dark things come down from the houseless hills, or creep from sunless wood, they fly from us.'"

I worded this intentionally to allow its use by both rangers and 1E rangers.

—————

Heirs of Valandil
Event • Response
If an character dies, transfer any number of Free Peoples cards borne by that companion to any eligible bearers at the same site.
"‘But my home, such as I have, is in the North. For here the heirs of Valandil have ever dwelt in long line unbroken from father unto son for many generations. Our days have darkened, and we have dwindled; but ever the Sword has passed to a new keeper.'"

I have nooooo idea if this card would be worth running.

—————

•Arwen, Wraithsbane
Ally • Site 2[F] & 3[F] • Elf
Strength: 7
Vitality: 3
Signet: Aragorn
Defender +1.
For each Free Peoples card borne by Arwen, fierce minions skirmishing her are strength -1.
"She was little changed, for the mortal years had passed her by; yet her face was more grave, and her laughter now seldom was heard."

Tank her up, and send her out against some fierce baddies! (On a personal note, I think Defender +1 is a natural fit for Arwen.)

—————

No Time to Lose -FP
Event • Regroup
Exert Sméagol and X other Ring-bound companions to remove for each exertion. If you place 3 or more exertions, the Ring-bound move limit is +1 this turn.
"‘Silly!' hissed Gollum. ‘We're not in decent places. Time's running short, yes, running fast.'"

As if I hadn't yet had my fill of fiddling with the rules, I'd like to heap one more element onto this virtual dumpster fire: bounded twilight tokens! I'd like to try designing cards that field from the twilight of specific site paths. "[1]" just means 1 twilight from the Ring-bound twilight pool.

If you can get 3 characters (1 being Smeagol) to exert, you'll remove (a significant removal, as bounded tokens don't empty at the end of a turn) and get a +1 move boost. Good luck using it!

—————

Dark Secrets
Condition • Support Area
To play, spot 3 Shadow dwellings.
Each time you play a ally, exert a Free Peoples ally.
Shadow: Discard this condition to look at the top 2 cards of your draw deck. You may reveal a card from among those looked at to take both cards into hand.
"‘But there is some dark terror that dwells in the passes above Minas Morgul. If Cirith Ungol is named, old men and masters of lore will blanch and fall silent.'"

By design, is pretty good at riffing off the bones of other cultures: in this case, being able to spot Shadow dwellings of any cultures means you can run Dark Secrets whemever, potentially playing it early to set-up more lethal Morgul/Cirith Ungol play.

There won't be a stupendous number of allies, but you'll want to use them, even if they aren't necessary to make use of this condition's Shadow effect: a small gamble for 2 cards, 1 you get to keep secret.

—————

Hasten While You May
Event • Shadow
Spot no minions (except stacked minions) to shuffle up to 10 or cards from your discard pile into your draw deck, then draw 3 cards. End your shadow phase.
"‘My scouts and watchers have all returned... they all find a strange thing. The land is empty. Nothing is on the road, and no sound of foot, or horn, or bowstring is anywhere to be heard.'"

I don't see this ever being a game breaker, but it could come in handy if you have less to do this turn than there are still turns to come. (Afterthought: If you set up a nasty Shadow Ally swarm, this would pare fiendishly well with it.)

[menace64]

I've been mentally focused elsewhere this past week but the process is still moving forward, if at intermittently-glacial speeds!

I thought it'd be nice to share some simple cards today, beginning with a familiar face:

•Aragorn, Longshanks
Companion • Man
Strength: 7
Vitality: 4
Mettle: 7
Ranger.
Each time you play a Hobbit, you may exert Aragorn to make that Hobbit twilight cost -1.
"Suddenly Frodo noticed that a strange-looking weather-beaten man, sitting in the shadows near the wall, was also listening intently to the hobbit-talk. He had a tall tankard in front of him, and was smoking a long-stemmed pipe curiously carved. His legs were stretched out before him, showing high boots of supple leather that fitted him well, but had seen much wear and were now caked with mud."

3:7/4/7 will be Aragorn's base stats in the Arnor culture, a little pushed due to his solitary stature within the culture. This version of Aragorn helps drive Hobbits even deeper into twilightless territory, either as a solid choke support for Hobbit allies ( or ); or as an engine for a new starting fellowship: Frodo , this Aragorn, exhausted , Merry , Pippin , and Sam . (And, of course, adding Smeagol if starting 6 companions doesn't bother you.)

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Concealing Cloak
Possession • Cloak
Mettle +1
Bearer must be a ranger.
While at a forest site or a ruin, bearer may not be overwhelmed.
"A travel-stained cloak of heavy dark-green cloth was drawn close about him, and in spite of the heat of the room he wore a hood that overshadowed his face..."

The spiritual successor to Coat of Mail, this new possession boosts a ranger's Mettle by 1 and provides conditional overwhelm protection. Not much reason not to run this, especially if you're going heavy on rangers.

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Meditation
Event • Regroup
Place an possession borne by an Elf companion on top of your draw deck to heal that Elf twice.
"Gimli was still deep in slumber, but Legolas was standing, gazing northwards into the darkness, thoughtful and silent as a young tree in a windless night."

Meditation is a free double-heal, as long as you don't plan on moving again and don't mind clogging up your hand with a possession you've already played.

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Roots of the Mountains -SH
Condition • Support Area
Search.
Each time you would draw a card, you may discard a character from hand to draw from the bottom of your draw deck instead.
Regroup: Exert Gollum and discard this condition to place a Shadow card from your discard pile on the bottom of your draw deck.
"‘All the "great secrets" under the mountains had turned out to be just empty night: there was nothing more to find out, nothing worth doing, only nasty furtive eating and resentful remembering.'"

Like I said before, is getting into more deck-manipulation antics, and with Roots of the Mountains Gollum doesn't even have to enter play to cause trouble. This card rebounds off of itself with enough copies in play, and is a tantalizing reason for splashing Gollum into just about any Shadow side with a relevant recycling engine.

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Near-miss
Event • Archery
Spot 2 archers and a companion to prevent that companion from taking any wounds this phase.
"Every moment they expected to feel the bite of black-feathered arrows. Many whined overhead..."

Simple, but situationally deadly. If there's a companion you know the Free Peoples player intends to sacrifice heedlessly to archery fire, play Near-miss to force that companion into cover, exposing their juicier compatriots to the goblin bows.

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A Knife in the Dark
Event • Skirmish
Exert a Nazgûl bearing a hand weapon to kill an ally in the same region. The Free Peoples player may exert a unique companion with mettle 6 or more to prevent this.
"In the dark without moon or stars a drawn blade gleamed, as if a chill light had been unsheathed. There was a blow, soft but heavy, and the door shuddered."

Very conditional, but in this hypothetical format Allies are more prevalent than ever. Characters with a Mettle stat of 6 or more are basically "Decent Big Folk", so it's not too difficult for the Freeps player to save their precious ally, if they opt to.

[menace64]

Here's all the versions of Aragorn I've got written so far.

•Aragorn, Protector of the Shire
Ally • Site 2[F] • Man
Strength: 7
Vitality: 4
Mettle: 7
Ranger. Defender +1. To play, exert Gandalf or Elrond.
Response: If your Hobbit (or ally whose home site is 1[F] or 2[F]) is about to take a wound, exert Aragorn to prevent that wound.
"Suddenly Frodo noticed that a strange-looking weather-beaten man, sitting in the shadows near the wall, was also listening intently to the hobbit-talk. He had a tall tankard in front of him, and was smoking a long-stemmed pipe curiously carved. His legs were stretched out before him, showing high boots of supple leather that fitted him well, but had seen much wear and were now caked with mud."

•Aragorn, Longshanks
Companion • Man
Strength: 7
Vitality: 4
Mettle: 7
Ranger.
Each time you play a Hobbit, you may exert Aragorn to make that Hobbit twilight cost -1.
"'It would take more than a few days, or weeks, or years, of wandering in the Wild to make you look like Strider,' he answered. 'And you would die first, unless you are made of sterner stuff than you look to be.'"

•Aragorn, Son of Arathorn
Companion • Man
Strength: 7
Vitality: 4
Mettle: 7
Ranger.
Skirmish: Exert an or ally whose home site is 2[F] or 3[F] to make Aragorn strength +2. (Limit +4.)
"...he is descended through many fathers from Isildur Elendil's son of Minas Ithil. He is the chief of the Dúnedain in the North, and few are now left of that folk.'"

[menace64]

Part XVI: 'Gornlove.

The Prophecy
Event • Fellowship
Tale.
Spot 2 Men to play an or card with "Aragorn" in its name (or any card bearable only by Aragorn) from your draw deck.
"‘The more need of haste! The days are darkening before the storm, and great things are to come. If these two wed now, hope may be born for our people; but if they delay, it will not come while this age lasts.'"

AWINL but for Aragorn and his toys, plus whatever else this event happens to catch.

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The Hands of a Healer
Event • Fellowship or Regroup
Tale.
Exert Aragorn to heal another Free Peoples character at his current site twice.
"‘But there are few left in Middle-earth like Aragorn son of Arathorn. The race of the Kings from over the Sea is nearly at an end. It may be that this War of the Ring will be their last adventure.'"

This event would apply to any companion in his fellowship, along with any rallied allies or those occupying a dwelling at the same site.

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•Ranger's Sword, Weapon of the Old North
Possession • Hand Weapon
Strength: +2
Bearer must be Aragorn. While Aragorn bears The Shards of Narsil, Ranger's Sword may be borne in addition to 1 other hand weapon.
At the start of each skirmish involving Aragorn, you may exert him to make each minion skirmishing him strength -1 (or -2 if a minion).
"Throwing back his cloak, he laid his hand on the hilt of a sword that hung concealed by his side. They did not dare to move."

I'm not 100% on the wording of the second-weapon-bearing text, but it has to go there since I want Aragorn to have access to both of his weapons at once. If you don't think my wording would allow this to work, please let me know!

I tried to keep this new Ranger's Sword at the same power-level as its two older kindred, while also doing something different. I leave it to you to tell me how well I managed!

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•The Shards of Narsil, Elendil's Blade
Artifact • Hand Weapon
Vitality: +1
Mettle: +1
Bearer must be Aragorn. While Aragorn bears no other weapon, he may not be overwhelmed unless his strength is tripled.
Response: If another character in Aragorn's region is about to take a wound during a skirmish, prevent that wound. (Limit once per site.)
"‘Yet we are hard pressed, and the Sword of Elendil would be a help beyond our hope—if such a thing could indeed return out of the shadows of the past.'"

For the longest time I had a -1 (and then a -2) strength debuff attached to this bearable version of The Shards of Narsil, but upon reflection I feel that'd only convince players to never, ever run this artifact, since dropping his strength undercuts the overwhelm protection.

Also, did I mention that this artifact offers even MORE wound protection?! Golly, it's almost like a core mechanic of the culture!  

[menace64]

This is Part One of a series of posts focusing more intently on the new Mettle stat, which is representative of a character's resolve/bravery/intent of purpose. In practical application, consider it a more fluid rewrite of Resistance. Any character with 0 Mettle is broken, a term not unlike exhausted that can open said character up to some truly nasty debuffs.

Let's get started with my first One Ring this decade!

•The One Ring, Weapon of the Enemy
Strength: +1
Mettle: +2
Maneuver: Exert bearer (or spot a unique minion) to wear The One Ring until the regroup phase.
While wearing The One Ring, each time the Ring-bearer is about to take a wound, add a burden and wound a character bearing a Ring or add 2 burdens.
"...and in the darkness bind them..."

Weapon of the Enemy opens up lots of resolution options for your Ring-bearer, able to target unique minions and characters bearing Rings to deflect harm away from your Ring-bearer. (Yes, you can wound Nazgul bearing Rings!)

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Doughty Men
Event • Response
If an or Man with mettle 5 or more exerts, heal that Man.
"‘...the last remnant in the North of the great people, the Men of the West.'"

One of Arnor's greatest cultural strengths is dealing with exertions, summarized no more clearly than Doughty Men. You still need to actually exert your Man (so this isn't quite Strength of Spirit) but can immediately heal it for a mere twilight token. Of course, this requires a mettle-5 Man, which under ideal conditions will apply to all rangers.

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•Hill Tyrant
Minion • Man
Strength: 10
Vitality: 2
Mettle: 4
Enduring.
For each broken companion you can spot, Men are strength +1 and damage +1.
"‘...possibly there is some trouble away south from which they are fleeing...'"

It's been a while since we've looked at the Dunlendings. Enduring is a core mechanic of the "Hill" minions, and typically these guys will come with ways of exerting themselves to gain the effect - and to return them to their 1-vitality roots. Hill Tyrant can't self-exert, but he's got a profound interest in mettle, offering universal bonuses for each broken companion you spot. It won't be easy to stack multiple broken companions, but cards like the Tyrant provide tempting targets for players in SQ.

Oh, and yeah: Hill Tyrant doesn't have a site number! I've done away with minion site numbers entirely!  I don't need 'em! Sites will be determing who and what are roaming.

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Steel Corslet
Possession • Armor
Bearer must be a Dwarf.
While exhausted, bearer is mettle +2.
Response: If bearer loses a skirmish to a minion with lower mettle than bearer, discard this possession to prevent all wounds to bearer.
"...for there was no hauberk in the hoards of Edoras of better make than his short corslet forged beneath the Mountain in the North."

Dwarves relate to mettle in-reverse of pretty much every other Freeps race: the stronger they are, the worse their mettle; and the worse they hurt, the higher their mettle. Steel Corselt provides a +2 bonus while exhausted, which boosts the potency of the very-Gimli's Helm-like response effect.

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Cloak of Grey
Possession • Cloak
To play, spot 3 Lothlórien Elves. Bearer must be a unique companion.
If War-bound, bearer is strength +1.
If Ent-bound, bearer is vitality +1.
If Ring-bound, bearer is mettle +1.
"‘Leaf and branch, water and stone: they have the hue and beauty of all these things under the twilight of Lórien that we love; for we put the thought of all that we love into all that we make.'"

This is my favorite card in this batch, even if it doesn't make any sense in the current official rules! Useless on unbound companions and restricted to those who are unique, Cloak of Grey bolsters the most-critical stat of each fellowship: strength for the War-bound companions questing to deliver the West from destruction; vitality for the Ent-bound Hobbits struggling to rally the Onodrim; and mettle for the Ring-bound companions, whose paths lead them ever-nearer to the heart of dark despair.

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•Wandlimb the Lightfooted
Condition • Character
Mettle: +1
Tale. Bearer must be Treebeard.
Skirmish: Exert Treebeard and spot an Ent in the dead pile to use mettle to resolve his skirmish instead of strength.
"‘"When Spring is come to garth and field, and corn is in the blade; / When blossom like a shining snow is on the orchard laid; / When shower and Sun upon the Earth with fragrance fill the air, / I'll linger here, and will not come, because my land is fair."'"

I don't know how useful this will be in most skirmishes (Treebeard retains his base strength of 12 so he can still squish most minions) but this is a solid backup plan for winning otherwise-tough skirmishes. You can ask me if mettle-overwhelms are going to be a thing, but my answer is likely to be "I have no idea!"  

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•Narya, Redstone
Artifact • Ring
Mettle: +2
Bearer must be Gandalf.
Each time Gandalf wins a skirmish, you may exert him twice and spot 3 allies here to liberate a site.
Maneuver: Exert Gandalf to rally an ally in this region; until the regroup phase, that ally is strength +2.
"‘For this is the Ring of Fire, and with it you may rekindle hearts in a world that grows chill.'"

This is the second or third time I've posted this card, and I suppose it's the flagship for how most of the Rings will work. Offering a +2 mettle boost is solid, and from there Narya gets crazy with the site liberation and ally support.

I've also been playing with terminology a bunch in my off-hours, inserting the term "rally" to replace "participates in archery fire and skirmishes until the regroup phase." Seems to work.

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•Sméagol, Not Altogether Wicked -FP
Companion
Strength: 3
Vitality: 4
Mettle: 2
Ring-bound. To play, add a burden.
At the start of each phase, you may exert Sméagol to make a Ring-bound Hobbit mettle +2 until the end of that phase.
"‘He would follow after me as he long has done. And I have promised many times to take him under my protection and to go where he led. You would not ask me to break faith with him?'"

Expect this effect to change slightly/profoundly as I go deeper into mettle-design, for I'm still unsure how "permanent" changes in a character's mettle will be: like Strength, lasting until the end of the phase; or like Vitality, lasting indefinitely... I dunno!

So, for now, Smeagol boosts mettle by 2 until the end of whatever phase you choose to activate the effect. Hobbits have a base mettle of 3-4, but have plentiful access to boosters, including Smeagol here for the Ring-bound halflings.

---------

(I'm going to keep posting cards until my hands fall off. I feel this thread has mostly run off the rails of its original purpose, so expect a better-focused post in the next week or two once I've started locking cardlists.)

[menace64]

And here's Part Two!

•Palantír of Minas Anor
Artifact • Palantír
Mettle: +2
Bearer must be a unique Man.
Each search card is twilight cost +1.
Fellowship: If bearer is Denethor, exert him to reveal a card at random from an opponent's hand. If the revealed card is a minion, place it on top of its owner's draw deck.
"...for the Stone of Minas Tirith was the palantir of Anárion, most close in accord with the one that Sauron possessed."

The Palantir of Minas Tirith was used heavily by Denethor in the waning days of the Steward, a desperate defense against Sauron's mounting power across the River. Of course I originally intended this card to play only on Denethor, but seeing as he doesn't show up in card-form until Set 5, I needed this to have some utility until we actually get to him. I've got a card slot reserved for each of the remaining palantíri in Middle-earth at the time of the War of the Ring; if I do it right, they'll all react off of one another almost like a palantir-mini-game.

---------

Agent of Angrenost
Ally • Edoras • Man
Strength: 6
Vitality: 3
Mettle: 4
To play, spot Gríma.
Shadow: Exert this ally and spot an unbound companion bearing X possessions to make that companion mettle -X until the regroup phase (limit -2).
"‘None are welcome here in days of war but our own folk... Who are you that come heedless over the plain thus strangely clad...?'"

I'm going to do everything I can to make Men playable, and I figure a good place to start is with some old-fashioned possession hate. Being a simple (and free!) ally, Agent of Angrenost requires only Grima to start being useful, digging into an unbound companion's mettle, possibly up to a -4 debuff.

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He's a Sneak
Event • Maneuver
Spot Sméagol (or Gollum) and discard 2 cards from hand to exert a Ring-bound companion. The Free Peoples player may make a Ring-bound Hobbit mettle -3 until the regroup phase to prevent this.
"‘Sméagol has to take what's given him,' answered Gollum. ‘He was given that name by kind Master Samwise, the hobbit that knows so much.'"

The Morgul culture is only ponderously coming into tighter focus. With this card, I begin to see one of the culture's potential strengths: pitting Hobbits against Gollum, dishing out exertions - or worse - for no other reason than bringing Slinker (or Stinker!) along on such a perilous journey. I don't yet know what will care about more: Ring-bearer wounds, or broken companions. Maybe both!

---------

(Not for the first time, my post is crashing when I try adding the limited-unique dot to this card. Very annoying! For now just pretend there's a four-point star in front of the card title, which limits it to "one per site" in this case.)

Ghâsh!
Condition • Site
Plays on an underground site.
While you can spot X ruins, each companion at this site is mettle -X.
Shadow: Exert 2 minions and discard this condition to add . If you can then spot in the twilight pool, halt the fellowship.
"Right across the floor, close to the feet of two huge pillars a great fissure had opened. Out of it a fierce red light came, and now and again flames licked at the brink and curled about the base of the columns. Wisps of dark smoke wavered in the hot air."

Ghash! is a long-term investment, trading to play it in exchange for a potential twilight flood later that can even halt the fellowship. One of the issues with is that it relies heavily on underground sites, which don't persist beyond Site 5[F] in any meaningful way. I wrote this card to help give the culture some teeth along the later [F] sites. It might do better at a cost of .

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•Corsair Captain
Minion • Man
Strength: 12
Vitality: 3
Mettle: 5
Corsair. Fierce.
For each dwelling you spot, each War-bound companion and ally is mettle -1.
Skirmish: Exert a non-unique corsair to make Corsair Captain strength +1 and mettle +1.
"‘The Corsairs of Umbar are coming! So Belfalas is taken, and the Ethir, and Lebennin is gone...'"

I haven't shown them yet, but the new corsair ships come in the form of dwellings. The Captain here cares a lot about how many ships he's got, and can use his crew to gain unrestricted strength and mettle bonuses. AND he's fierce!

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•Horn of Helm, Legacy of Hammerhand
Possession • Adventure Area
Plays on The Hornburg.
Skirmish: Exert a ally here (or Gimli) to make a skirmishing Free Peoples character mettle +1 (and damage +1 if that character bears a mount) until the regroup phase.
"Back from the Deep the echoes came, blast upon blast, as if on every cliff and hill a mighty herald stood. But on the walls men looked up, listening with wonder; for the echoes did not die."

I'm really excited to reveal my plans for in Set 3 & 4, with the new Horn of Helm giving only the slightest glimpse into what's coming. It plays on... The Hornburg...? before offering a simple mettle bonus, tacking on a damage bonus if mounted. You'll have to stay tuned to see the rest of 's new look!

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(This card should also have a limited-unique dot in front of its name, which limits it to 1 copy per character.)

Contest of Will
Condition • Character
Search. To play, spot a artifact. Bearer must be a Free Peoples character bearing a Palantír or Ring.
At the start of each Shadow phase, you may spot a artifact and reveal a unique character from hand to make bearer mettle -3 until the start of the regroup phase.
"And suddenly he felt the Eye. There was an eye in the Dark Tower that did not sleep. He knew that it had become aware of his gaze. A fierce eager will was there. It leaped towards him..."

Pretty straightforward, and singlehandedly cancels the base +2 mettle bonus conferred by palantiri with just a bit of infrastructure work.

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•Sam, The Stout-hearted
Companion • Hobbit
Strength: 3
Vitality: 4
Mettle: 3
Ring-bound.
Each time a or companion is assigned to a skirmish, Sam is mettle +1 until the regroup phase.
Response: If Frodo is killed, make Sam the Ring-bearer (resistance 5).
"‘"Don't you leave him!" they said to me. "Leave him!" I said. "I never mean to. I am going with him, if he climbs to the Moon, and if any of those Black Riders try to stop him, they'll have Sam Gamgee to reckon with," I said.'"

Each of Frodo's companions begins as an Ally in Set 1, but after that they'll be standard Companions doing standard Companiony things. Sam here is, I feel, an early echo of Great Elf Warrior, gaining not strength but mettle, requiring others to be fighting for him to gain his bonuses. Expect a few extremely potent mettle-based cards to combo with Sam.

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Piercing
Event • Maneuver
Spell.
Exert a Nazgûl to make a Free Peoples character mettle -2 until the regroup phase. You may take the next maneuver action.
"A long-drawn wail came down the wind, like the cry of some evil and lonely creature. It rose and fell, and ended on a high piercing note. Even as they sat and stood, as if suddenly frozen, it was answered by another cry, fainter and further off, but no less chilling to the blood. There was then a silence, broken only by the sound of the wind in the leaves."

If anybody ever says including flavor text in your card design doesn't amount to anything, refer them to me for re-education. For the longest while Piercing had only that first line of text and no lore, gaining the Baruk Khazad callback only once I'd gone lore-hunting and found myself wondering how cool it would be to give players additional control over the maneuver phase. This might become "a thing" in the culture... it just feels so awesome and so right!

---------

I think it's about time to jump deeper into Dwellings. I have a lot already done behind the scenes, and now that all the cultures have some meat on their bones I feel much more comfortable working with the new card type. Give me a few days for revisions and hopefully I'll have something neat to share with you next time!

[Wyrden333]

Hi menace,
here I'm now. I'm not done reading all of your cards yet, but I'm looking forward to read the rest.
Yesterday, after I read your  Mûmak Ally, I couldn't get the idea out of my head and I didn't remember what your Mûmk did so I wrote one on my own! I've no idea if he's to strong with the condition I wrote for him so I ask for Feedback.

  Mûmak 
Ally(Home 5) - Mûmak
Strength: 12
Vitality: 4
Fierce, Damage+1, Stomp
This Ally is Strength +1 for each wound on unbound companiens and Allies you can spot.
Skirmish:Exert this ally and discard a Man skirmishing a companien or ally to wound that companien or ally. The Free People Player may exert the Ringbearer to prevent that.

I've no idea what stomp means but it sounds good on a Mûmak.

  Mûmak Assault 
Condidition - Support Area
Each time a companien or ally exerts or takes a wound, you may add a  token on this card.
Maneuver: Remove 5  tokens from this card and spot a Mûmak ally to make that ally participate at archery and in skirmishes until the Regroup Phase.

That allows the Mûmak to fight and the Token-adding synergieses with the Mûmak.

I wrote some more  [Raider]Conditions and  [Raider]Minions, maybe they will be able to follow soon.

[menace64]

(I had to reformat your cards slightly. It's nothing personal - everybody's got their own way - I just have a compulsion for such things!)

Mûmak
Ally • Home 5 • Mûmak
Strength: 12
Vitality: 4
Damage+1. Fierce. Stomp.
For each wound on allies and unbound companions, this ally is strength +1.
Skirmish: Exert this ally and discard a Man skirmishing a companion or ally to wound that companion or ally. The Free People Player may exert the Ring-bearer to prevent that wound.

I've no idea what stomp means but it sounds good on a Mûmak.

If I had to plug-in an effect for Stomp, I'd start with something like "Each time this character wins a skirmish, discard a card borne by the losing character."

Right off the bat, I think that Skirmish ability is darn-near close to perfect as a ability. Everything about it feels right in-line with the culture. Of course the whole card is broken beyond belief  but that's fine! It's sometimes easiest to start way above (or below!) the curve and then refine the card down to something serviceable.

Mûmak Assault 
Condition • Support Area
Each time a companion or ally exerts or takes a wound, you may add a  token here.
Maneuver: Remove 5  tokens here and spot a Mûmak ally to make that ally participate in archery fire and skirmishes until the regroup phase.

Perfect! I'd suggest adding a simple To Play requirement just to keep this card in-culture. "To play, spot a Southron." would probably do just fine!

I'd love to see what else you've got! One of my favorite DC topics has always been skirmishing Mumaks.

[menace64]

I've found myself these last few days pouring creative energies into the Arnor culture, which means I think I'm finally ready to share Dwellings! Let's get some basics out of the way before moving on to the cards themselves.

• There is always an active area for each site on the adventure path, even if said site hasn't yet been played. (Example: There is always a location for "Site 2[F]" even if all players are still at site 1[F].) This enables players to play their dwellings without having to wait for a fellowship to first reach the appropriate site.
• Dwellings always play to the Adventure Area. When you play a dwelling, it goes wherever indicated in the class bar. Most dwellings are straightforward enough, but expect them to pop up EVERYWHERE.
• Speaking of the class bar, each dwelling also comes with a number of Shadow culture icons. What's that all about? Well, you see, whether or not a character is roaming comes down to spotting that character's culture icon on the current site, or on any adjacent dwellings. For a host of technical reasons I had to make this change, and so far I haven't regretted it.
• Allies are now able to move about the adventure area. Each time the fellowship moves, your allies can also move, for free, from one location to another, but unable to move beyond their home region. (That's where I'm sitting on this right now, but there's still some fiddling to be done.)

Now - Let's jump into some cards!

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•Bree, Village in the Lone-lands
Dwelling (2[F]) • | |
While you can spot 3 allies here (or a ranger), Bree may not be destroyed.
Each time you play a Free Peoples card with twilight cost 0, you may exert an character to shuffle an or card from your discard pile into your draw deck.
"Bree was the chief village of the Bree-land, a small inhabited region, like an island in the empty lands round about."

To play Bree, place it in the Adventure Area either adjacent to Site 2[F] or adjacent to where a Site 2[F] will eventually appear. Once in play, Bree enables , , and characters to play to site 2[F] without paying a roaming penalty.

The first line of Bree's game text is a powerful effect commonly included on dwelling cards which encompass large population centers: destruction-protection. You'll be happy it's there once Shadow players start gunning for your allies! After that it reads like a regular card, in this case leaning into a cultural strength of Arnor - rewarding you for playing free cards!

I hope none of that sounds outlandishly complicated; trust me when I say that it plays out a lot easier in practice, and honestly the overwhelming majority of dwellings will play and feel exactly like "Condition • Site" cards, minus the vulnerabilities to cards such as Saruman's Power and Grown Suddenly Tall.

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•The Prancing Pony, Pride of Bree
Dwelling (Bree) • |
Each time you play or move a character here whose race you cannot spot elsewhere in Bree, add an token here.
At the start of each regroup phase, you may remove X tokens here to heal a character in Bree X times.
"...men of Bree, a collection of local Hobbits... a few more dwarves, and other vague figures difficult to make out away in the shadows and corners."

Right now I have The Prancing Pony as playing off of Bree, which may be too convoluted for practical execution, but once I've formally introduced the Quest card type this issue may cease to be one. So, for now, I'm keeping these sub-dwellings as-is. (Makes it tough to review, I know. Sorry!)

This dwelling keys off of another cultural strength of Arnor: multiracialism! Shuffle some characters around to generate some tokens, and come the regroup phase you can get some healing done. This can technically work on companions, but typically you'll be using this dwelling to maintain the health of Breeland allies.

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Gate-house
Dwelling (Bree) • |
Fortification 1.
At the start of your fellowship phase, you may exert an ally here to make a companion strength +1 until the fierce assignment phase.
"There was another gate in the southern corner where the Road ran out of the village. The gates were closed at nightfall; but just inside them were small lodges for the gatekeepers."

The Fortification keyword has moved to dwellings, and it's a loaded keyword now: Fortification X (When you play this card, add X defensive tokens here. If this card has any defensive tokens, you dwellings at this site may not be destroyed.)

It's almost too wordy for my liking (does "too wordy" even exist for me!?), but the effect is more-or-less where I need it to be. Fortifications protect your dwellings, but are also natural targets for opponents. Most Shadow cultures will have specific cards for dealing with fortifications, and some cultures will be scary-good at hurting Freeps players over-reliant on dwellings.

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Gate-keeper
Ally • Bree • Man
Strength: 3
Vitality: 2
Mettle: 3
While this ally is at an fortification, Shadow characters may not move to Bree.
Fellowship: Exert this ally to reinforce a fortification here.
"‘We have to keep watchers all round the fence and put a lot of men on the gates at nights.'"

Gate-keeper is the sort of ally you want to drop into the Gate-house and never, ever move. Not only does he prevent Shadow characters from entering Bree (I'm still not sure how that part works, but expect it to be extremely simple, fast, and temporary), but he also replenishes the defensive tokens of your fortifications. Solid ally, but expensive compared to other allies.

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I need to eat lunch. I know these cards are all new and weird and stuff. With the flood-gates open I'll be wanting to share dwellings from other cultures. I may also need to reveal Quest cards before their appointed hour... we'll see.

Thanks for reading! Good luck! 

[Wyrden333]

OK,
I think I finally got what you wrote there.

For '•Bree, Village in the Lone-lands' I think for the Free People Player it doesn't sound that good, but as soon as you play  ,  or  Shadow it becomes pretty good. That makes Deckbuilding pretty interesting.

'The Prancing Pony, Pride of Bree'
Where do you have to play it? On Bree, or what? Else than that it sounds pretty good (It's for purpose that if you've two Allies there and they are 'jumping' you get like a free heal each turn, or did I get something wrong?)

For the Gate-House and -Keeper I think they are pretty solid from Power Level.

Question: Can you activate the effect of i.e. Gate-House whenever you want or only if the Fellowship is at Site 2? And i guess Your opponent may activate the effect of it on his own turn as well, can't he?

So far so good but keep in mind not to make the game to complex. 
 

[Wyrden333]

And here are my other Southrons: 

Spearman of the South 
Minion-Man
Strength: 5
Vitality: 3
Lurker. Southron.
You may spot another Southron skirmishing a Companien. Exert this Minion and discard one of your  Conditions or  Possessions to wound that companien. (The Free People Player may discard two of his Condition and/or Possessions to prevent that.)

I clearly had a Spearman lurking behind his comerade in mind when writing it. 

Ok I thougt I could post more of them but time is running out. I have one I wanna show you because i really like how he came out.

War-Mûmak 
Ally-Home 5-Mûmak
Strength: 12
Vitality: 4
Damage+1. Fierce. Stomp.
Each  Possession played on this Ally is Twilight Cost -2.
For each Possession played on this Ally, he is Strength +1.
Maneuver:Exert this Ally and spot an Unbound Character with Mettel 5 or less to make that Character unable to be assigned to a Skirmish until the Regroup Phase.

OK I got the idea from a friend, who said 'make him so, that he scares a Companien' and I think that was a genius idea! He probably should be once per turn, shouldn't he?
Anyway hope y'all like them. I've plenty more, but no time left. I will see, if I can post them on weekend or so. That is it for now.

[Wyrden333]

I'll try to get the rest of my first Southron support done.

Howdah
Possession
Play on a Mûmak Ally.
Shadow: or Regroup: If there are 4 less Minions stacked on the Bearer, spot your Southron and remove to stack that Minion on the Bearer. if this card is discarded discard every Minion stacked on the Bearer.

It's pretty wordy, but it does what it is supposed to do (I hope). I wasn't sure if I wanted it to be a condition, but this is more accurate.

Maneuvering the Mûmak
Condition • Support Area
Spot a Southron or a Mûmak to play. Response: When a -Condition or -Possession is discarded you may exert a Mûmak Ally to play a card with the same card type (Condition or Possession) but a different Name from your Draw Deck. It's twilight cost is -X, where X is the number of  Tokens that were placed on the card.

I planned on making more Conditions so this was just the right thing to protect and cycle them.

Poison Arrows
Event • Archery
Discard X Raider Cards stacked and/or borne on your Mûmak Ally to make the Minion Archery total +X

Helping me generating more wounds. I don't even know if one would play this card, because every Minion I had in mind was giving the Mûmak additional effects, except Spearman.

Charge!!!
Event • Skirmish
Make a Southron strenght +2 for each Mûmak Ally you can spot. (Max. +6)
If that Minion wins that skirmish you may exert your winning Southron to play a Mûmak Ally from your Discard Pile.

Battle event thats reborning a Mûmak?  Should I make his twilight cost higher?

That's it for now any feedback is welcome